Have you ever heard these comments? “You shouldn’t eat that.” “You should eat that.” I have heard them several times over the years as I have tried to eat healthy and improve my well being. I have probably also said them several times, as I have encouraged people in living a healthy lifestyle. So many people claim to have the best diet plan out there. But the truth is there are foods that may be right for you to eat but not for me. Something you like may make me sick. Or maybe it just throws my whole system out of whack. I have been learning that over the last couple of years as I have taken a closer look at my own eating habits and have had to detoxify my body to discover that I was allergic to some foods that were making me ill.
The truth is there comes a time in our life when we may need to stop and evaluate what we are eating. It may not be good for us and may be causing us to become sick. When that happens we need to detoxify our bodies. So, what is detoxifying? What is a diet? Are there ways to detoxify our physical and spiritual beings that will help to make us live in such a way as to please God? I believe there are. First, let’s take a closer look at some terms and then, see what would be a good way to start the detoxifying process.
Detoxifying is the freeing of oneself from a dependence on something – drugs, alcohol, food, things, people, recognition, or any number of other things.
Diet is the type or kind of foods you live on, the choice of foods or things you take into your system. It can be regulated, restricted or prescribed. It is a deliberate selection of foods or things you choose to take into your body. It may be good or toxic. It can be a habitual intake or a consumption of something.
Our diet is made up of the things that we ingest both physically and spiritually. The actual foods we eat make up our physical diet. Some of these help us to develop and grow properly while others are toxic and kill us slowly. Our spiritual diet is made up of the things and relationships help us to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
Sometimes we start to eat things that taste good although they may not be the best choices for our body to use and function properly. These foods then can cause other problems. We also may start to neglect things like exercise and drinking good clear water. We may take into our bodies other things to strengthen us, but they actually hurt us. These things begin to make us toxic.
The more toxins we have in our system the more we start to have other health problems and need more and more help. Once we realize that we are toxic, full of things that are not good for us, we can start to do something to clean up our system. This is called detoxifying our bodies. Many people do this with a detoxification diet or other cleansing strategy. To detoxify you need to withhold the things that are unhealthy and making you sick and ingest the foods that will strengthen your body. This detoxifying process can sometimes be painful as our body goes through withdrawals as the toxins are eliminated.
Here are some things to help detoxify your body physically.
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eliminate the things that cause problems, that your body does not need to function properly.
3. Get plenty of exercise.
4. Get plenty of rest.
5. Find the foods that are best for you, and eat a balanced diet with variety. Everyone needs different foods and things to help them function well. Finding what works best for you is important.
Just as you can make your physical body toxic, you can also make your spiritual body toxic. This happens when things start to take the place of God. When we put things into our minds that are not good for us, things like inappropriate movies, or music. Drugs that turn our thoughts away from the truth. Sometimes we put toxins into our systems by allowing bitterness and anger to set and fester instead of dealing with them.
When we become spiritually toxic we tend to not want anything to do with God or church or even other Christians. We put our Bibles on the shelf and allow other things to take its place. Maybe someone else’s words and not the True Words of Jesus. These things put a wedge in our relationship with God and other people. Sometimes we see this happening ourselves and sometimes we need help seeing it and working through it.
Here are some things that one can do to detoxify spiritually.
1. Set aside a time and place to detoxify, refresh yourself.
2. Eliminate things that are toxic to your soul – TV, media, people, stuff, idols, ministry overload, multitasking, books.
3. Spend time with the One who made you and knows you intimately – God.
4. Read His Word and pray.
5. Spend time slowly putting things back in place. Find the things that help you to grow in your relationship with Jesus and add them to your daily regimen of spiritual food, just like you add the foods that help you physically develop strength into your diet. Finding just the right balance of time with Jesus in His Word and prayer and serving Him and others helps to stabilize things again.
Prayer:
Father God, we come to You needing help as our lives are messed up. Sometimes we don’t even know how messed up they are until someone points it out to us. Helps us to see the things that entangle us and make us toxic. Help us to find the strength to turn from those things and allow You to detoxify our physical as well as our spiritual bodies. Bring healing to our bodies so we may be the best that You created us to be. May You help us to find the foods and activities that will help us to live our lives to the fullest for Your honor and glory. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.