Balanced Diet

Diets are an American obsession. Approximately 50% of the U.S. population reported that they had worked on maintaining a healthier diet in 2018. It's pretty safe to say that what we put in our bodies definitely has an impact on what our bodies look like on the outside, but not as many people place a great deal of thought on what our caloric intake does to the inside of our bodies. Without the assistance of medical professionals, the damage we cause with unhealthy eating habits for the most part goes unnoticed, some times until the damage is done and we face the consequences of our choices and decisions over a lifetime of improper diet decisions. The Bible makes metaphoric references to what we put into our body in multiple chapters, but two of those in particular are of special interest for our Flat Tire Ministry Thought this week.
     In Isaiah 30:20 the writer informs us that "Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes, you will see them." So according to the Bible adversity and affliction are necessary components in our daily diet because they are given to us by God. On the flip side of that the Bible also describes the diet of "those that choose the bread of wickedness and the wine of violence" in Psalm 4:17. Two distinct diets of which neither sound too enjoyable, yet if we look at how these diet choices played out in the life of the apostle Paul it is clear which choice tops the "most healthy diet choices" list. 
      Paul's early life was one where he most certainly was taking in the bread of wickedness and the wine of violence. Before his conversion, Paul was a brutal persecutor of those that followed Christ. Imprisoning Christians was a pleasure to Paul and many a Christian died as a result of Paul's early work. Living a life of greed, hatred, and immorality it would be safe to say Paul was partaking of the bread of wickedness and washing it down with the wine of violence. Paul the hater of Christians could have continued his life doing just as he was, but through God's intervention Paul's diet changed dramatically. 
   When Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus it wasn't like he had all of a sudden found Nirvana. No, Paul was blinded by Jesus. One serving of adversity topped with a heaping scoop of affliction. Constant pain in his side, lost at sea, shipwrecked, tortured, persecuted, imprisoned, and eventually sentenced to death it is safe to say Paul's life became a menu from the Isaiah 30:20 buffet of adversity and affliction! But something funny and inexplicable in today's societal standards happened to Paul, the more Paul was persecuted, the more the pain in his side mounted, the closer Paul got to His Creator and Savior. How is it possible that a man like Paul could change his diet and his perspective so dramatically? II Corinthians 9:10-12 spells it out for us. "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." That is today's message. We may experience hardship in life, our bodies may suffer from afflictions, diseases, and other maladies, but we are not in this life alone. If we partake of the wickedness and violence of this world you are on your own. Your diet will control your choices and your choices will not be productive, healthy, or beneficial I can almost guarantee it. Yet on the other hand, if you choose to take advantage of the diet of adversity and affliction your life will begin to have meaning and your purpose will be revealed to you. Look at the people that have overcome their afflictions and adversities to become inspirations to people all around the world, their adversity actually became their platform for helping and serving others. 
     You are not alone. Your afflictions and the adversities you are facing are not going to be "fun" or even enjoyable for that matter, but just as Paul realized it is in our weakness that God is made stronger in us! Embrace the life you have been given, look for what God wants you to do from where you are, and then go out and make a difference in the lives of those you come in contact with each and every day! Remember, your life isn't about you! May this week be filled with opportunities for you to serve others and may you do so with the love of Christ as your guiding force!
Coach Carter