A Way Out [Choosing Joy]

Does God really care about how much I eat? ABSOLUTELY!

The other day, my family and I went out to eat at a cute little diner in town.   After enjoying my own burger and fries, I noticed that my daughter had taken only one bite from her $5 grilled cheese sandwich.  She was clearly finished eating as evidenced by her wiggles, and she scooted onto to my lap and pretended to be driving a car.  Now, I have had grilled cheese from this restaurant before and I know that it is delicious and should not be thrown away.  So I began reaching for the abandoned sandwich.  My intention was to eat it myself even though I had cleaned my own plate just moments before.  But, before I could grab the golden deliciousness, my daughter clutched my hand drawing my arm around her waist and explained that I had to be the seat belt.  I knew right then, that God was using her as my way out of temptation.

The next day, my husband was enjoying Skittles while we were watching TV together.  Even though dinner was finished and my stomach certainly was not hungry, I took the bag and mindlessly poured a handful for myself.  As soon as the candies hit my palm, my son chimed in, “Can I have some Skittles?”  Immediately, I put my candies into his hand, and moved the bag as far away as possible from my reach.  Again, God had given me a way out of temptation.

Then the next day, I found a recipe for a strawberry cheesecake dessert, and I spent the morning putting it together.  I was so proud of myself for resisting licking the spoon while cooking!  However, that afternoon, the yumminess was calling to me.  I thought to myself that I would just get one little bite, and I went to the fridge and pulled the dish out.  The moment that I set it on the counter, I heard my phone ring with a text message.  Normally, I try to keep my phone close by, but on this occasion, I could not find it!  As I walked away from the kitchen to search for my phone, I realized, the missing phone was another way out of temptation provided by God.

When I call out to God and confess that greed for food is an area of sin in my life, He is so faithful to keep me from stumbling.  His gentle guidance could be easily missed or worse, deliberately ignored, but being in step with His Spirit is so much sweeter than any dessert.  Believe, Obey, Be Blessed!

“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)