Scripture: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord]." Matthew 6:24

Reflection: Most of us don't intentionally offer our hearts to false Gods. Most of us don't intentionally go into the pursuit of better health or weight loss ready to bow to the process above all else. The truth is though, if we're not careful, even something seemingly pure and good like working toward a better body can be stealth-like and without our even realizing it become an idol in our lives. Even the most devoted Jesus girls among us can fall prey to this scheme of the Enemy to cause us to devote more time, thought, and energy into the pursuit of health than the pursuit of holiness. To prevent this, I encourage you to view your health journey from what I call, "spirit-based living." If we imagine our lives like the wheel of a bicycle, the hub is the Holy Spirit, it's the center that secures the wheel. From it, are many spokes that without the hub won't hold together. The "spokes" of our lives should all flow from the hub of our lives, the Holy Spirit. To keep God at the center of all we do, it's powerful to view everything from a spirit-based perspective. When it comes to keeping the power of food in an appropriate place, ask yourself, what approach to eating draws you nearest to the Holy Spirit? Eating from a spirit-based approach will yield peace, freedom of mind, dependence upon God's strength not your own, always alignment with God's word, and not always man's. Spirit-based eating should cause you to be thinking of the Lord MORE than food. The same holds with exercise. What form of moving your body draws you closest to God? What causes praise to rise up from within you? What allows you to listen to worship music or make your workout more than just exercise but also a form of worship? Again, what causes you to focus MORE on God and less on your body? Living from a spirit-based approach carries over to every aspect of life! After all, life has many "spokes," right? You can use this strategy when you consider what you're listening to. What you're watching, reading, or scrolling through. You can use it when you consider the company you keep or the ways you spend your time. When we view every aspect of our lives from this perspective, and simply ask, "What causes me to think MORE on God and the things of heaven and less on my body and the natural," you'll be well on your way to producing fruit that will satisfy both now and for eternity.

Prayer: Lord, there is no one like you! You alone are God. You alone are worthy of praise! I desire to serve you and you alone. Jesus, I desire to live my best life in my healthiest body and I know that is your desire for me as well. It's easy though to allow that pursuit to become all-consuming. I'm bombarded with messages, images, advertisements, and even ambitions that can cause me to inadvertently place more value on those things than on my eternal impact. In those moments Lord, will you give me a gentle nudge and remind me to rein in my thoughts and efforts and measure them against yours? Will you cause me to view my life from a spirit-based perspective, placing you at the center so that every area of my life is simply an extension of you? I desire to eat and move my body well for your glory and in ways that draw me near to you. Will you guide me as I seek that with all my heart? I praise you that you truly long to be part of every single area of my life and that without you, my efforts are in vain. In Jesus name, I pray, amen.