“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”” Matthew 26:41
Watch and pray
So, if you have been reading this blog long, you know I have issues with headaches and migraines. I recently talked to someone who was telling me that they just figured out that sugar was a trigger for her daughter’s migraines.
The experiment
I decided that I would do an experiment: a no extra sugar month. By “no extra”, I mean that I am not going to worry about sugar in bottled spaghetti sauce and hidden sugars like that. I am cutting out the overt sugar: soda, sweet tea, candy, dessert, etc.
No Headaches
I have been doing it for almost two weeks and have been almost completely headache free, even though I have had EVERY ONE of what I thought were my triggers before.
Trouble
Yesterday, was my first day that I had so much trouble with not caving to my craving for something sweet. I wanted soda and chocolate and almost gave in (in a spectacular crash of my goals).
A willing spirit
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
You see, I got a little cocky going into yesterday. Frankly, this has been a whole lot easier than I expected it to be. I have lost five pounds, been headache free, and with a very small amount of effort.
The perfect set-up
I let my guard down. I started to forget the purpose of the experiment and focused only on what I was feeling at the moment. Yesterday, I was perfectly set up for giving in to my craving for sugar.
What God wants
Isn’t that the way it is in our spiritual lives? If we don’t watch and pray… If we don’t stay vigilant and guard against pride (getting cocky and full of ourselves), we can lose focus of our true purpose and the reason we live the lives we do. We can cave to what we want rather than surrendering those desires to what God wants.
Action Step:
Our focus today is PRAYER!
Prayer: communicating with God, a back and forth (talking AND listening)
Today, let’s focus on rooting out the areas where we are growing complacent or cocky. Where are we letting down our guard and allowing an opportunity for trouble? Where do we need to reset our focus?
Give those areas to God in prayer today and ask for His help to overcome our cravings and surrender to His desires for us (which are so much more to our benefit because He loves us better than we love ourselves).
Prayer:
Dear God, help me not to get in my own way today. Reveal to me the areas where I am slipping and bring me back to you. Thank You for loving me too much to let me stay right where I am. In Jesus’ name, amen.
