Resolve to Control Your Eating Habits

She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.

Proverbs 31: 14 – 15

But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.  Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink.  Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age?  The king would then have my head because of you.”

Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Michael, and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days:  Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

At the end of the ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. Daniel 1: 11 – 15

Holy Spirit, strengthen me to make better food choices.  Help me escape autopilot mode and really begin to think before I eat.  I resolve, beginning today, to put this to the test for the next ten days.  I’m going to eat your food (specifically, vegetables and water).  At the end of that time, let’s see how I look and feel.  I’m excited about this new adventure.  But I’ll need your help, Holy Spirit, to stand firm in this resolve.  I know you’ll help me. Amen.

The Proverbs 31 woman brought her food from afar.  She was willing to go to extra trouble to ensure that she and her family ate right. Daniel is another example of someone who believed it was important to observe healthy eating habits, even when doing so involved a lot of extra effort. The Proverbs 31 woman didn’t eat healthy because it was convenient; she was willing to do what was inconvenient.  The same is true for Daniel.  He put himself on the line and put his guardian to a great deal of inconvenience to eat healthily.  If you hope to follow in their footsteps, don’t expect eating healthy to be convenient for you.  Eating healthy has always taken extra effort and it always will.  But it’s worth it.

Daniel resolved to take charge of his eating habits.  The word resolve is fascinating.  It means:

1.         to reduce to the first principle

2.         to remove obscurity by analysis

3.         to fix in opinion or purpose

4.         to determine in mind

You can read the rest of the story about Daniel and his three teenage friends for yourself.  In a nutshell, it says they not only looked better, but they were also healthier physically.  Can a change in diet have that dramatic of an impact?  I believe the answer is yes.  Don’t take my word for it.  Put it to the test for yourself.  For the next ten days, resolve to eat and drink healthier. At the end of ten days, see how much better you look and feel. Affirmation: I resolve to exercise control over my eating habits.