Contrary to popular opinion, you can live without doughnuts, cakes, cookies, pastries or even the latest new, easy dessert recipe. What’s more, you can be happy, satisfied and more in tune with God’s purposes for your life. You just have to learn to keep your crumbs off the throne that only belongs to God. Let me explain.
Recently I talked about Seven Keys for Spiritual Weight Loss. Today I want to talk a little more about the first and most important key—God is God. There is no substitute.
First Commandment
This may seem like a no-brainer, especially if you’ve been in church for any length of time. It’s the first commandment.
“I am God, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of a life of slavery. No other gods, only Me” (Ex. 20:1-3, MSG).
You may say, “Yes, of course. I only worship the Lord God. I don’t worship gods of any other religions.”
Wait, though. Go back. That is not what He is talking about in this commandment. That’s the second commandment about bowing down to man-made and foreign gods.
God of the Breakthrough
What God is talking about in the first commandment is to worship Him as the God of the breakthrough, the God who delivers from bondage. Only the Lord God Almighty can do that.
God is the one who rescued the children of Israel from the tyranny of slavery at the hands of the Egyptians. This is a precursor to what Jesus did for us on the cross. His death, burial and resurrection led the way for our freedom. All we have to do is accept the sacrifice He gave for us and our bondage to sin is broken. We are free whether we act like it or not.
He rescued us from our enemies by enabling us to serve Him freely, without fear (Luke 1:74). If we worship Him and Him alone, we will find that we can say no to the pull of things that are not best for us. These are the sins that become weights that easily entangle us.
“Let me be clear, the Anointed One has set us free—not partially, but completely and wonderfully free! We must always cherish this truth and stubbornly refuse to go back into the bondage of our past” (Gal. 5:1, TPT).
The Stomach God
Yes I am going to go there. Paul warned the Philippians about what happens when we elevate anything else to the position that only God should occupy. “I have told you of them often and tell you again, even weeping. Their destination is destruction, their god is their appetite, their glory is in their shame, their minds are set on earthly things” (Phil. 3:18b-19).
These folks were putting doughnuts, or whatever they wanted, craved, desired, tempted by or were addicted to on the throne of their hearts rather than God. I do understand this and you may too.
There was a time when I lived for the next church potluck, when I knew the great cooks would bring out all their best desserts. I would move heaven and earth to get there. I learned to go through the dessert line first to make sure I got my favorites.
This was back when I weighed 430 pounds and wanted nothing more than to eat more of what I craved and was pulled by. Even though I’ve lost the weight today, I have a weakened heart to thank for my many years of overindulgence.
I’m just now realizing that even though I’ve set the record straight, lost the weight and kept it off, sin has consequences. I lived in that lifestyle for over 30 years. Today I eat right, exercise and plead with you to do the same hoping God will spare me any additional damage as the years progress.
The Throne Room
I know there will not be doughnuts in God’s throne room. We will stand in awe and wonder at the splendor of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They will occupy all the space in the universe. Finally we will understand why we cannot have anything so mundane on the throne of our hearts.
There is only room for one King and God there. He’s the God of the breakthrough. He’s the supreme ruler and Creator of all there is. Without Him, the universe and our very bodies fall apart.
Food will be the last thing on our minds when we stand there on that day. As Chris Tomlin sings, “The sun will burn its final flame and every tear be wiped away/ When I see Jesus face to face, forevermore my heart will say/ ‘How sweet it is, how sweet it is, how sweet it is to be loved by You.'”
Then, we will understand the next verses in Philippians. “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body,” (Philippians 3:20-21 NIV).
Clean Up Your Throne
Right now it’s time to vacuum the doughnut crumbs off your throne and invite God back to be God of your life. It’s time to listen to Him instead of what you think you deserve or can’t live without. The question for you to ponder and mull over with God is: Can you say no to your cravings and temptations when you know God is telling you not to eat that? If not, then you need to commit to never allowing anything to occupy that throne other than God. {eoa}
Teresa Shields Parker is the author of five books and two study guides including her latest, Sweet Journey to Transformation: Practical Steps to Lose Weight and Live Healthy, and her No. 1 best-seller, Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds. She is also a blogger, coach and speaker at TeresaShieldsParker.com.
This article originally appeared at teresashieldsparker.com.
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