If you're depending on a church to provide a salad bar of spiritual nourishment, you'll be disappointed.
We cannot depend upon a church or ministry to feed us a well-rounded menu of spiritual nourishment and diagnose any missing dietary items—that's an unfair and impossible demand to place on a church. A Christian must be able to diagnose their own consumption, be in an accountability relationship/discipleship relationship to have someone train them to see what is missing and be able to adjust as needed.
A Christian needs to be like a mother who assesses her children's plates each meal. Too much brown stuff on the plate? Needs veggies! Needs color!
The Christian walk with Christ is not meant to be a diet—a restrictive method of losing worldly weight! We're supposed to be consuming and feeding on the richness of Christ Himself and living an abundant life, regardless of our circumstances. The shedding of junk food comes when we partake in the real food at Christ's table and develop an appetite for the good stuff!
This is not to say that intermittent fasting isn't good for the body, mind, and soul...it certainly is! Actually, fasting is one of the very BEST ways to facilitate a reset!
This is also not to say that eliminating or reducing consumption of worldly "junk food" won't bring immense benefits...it certainly will!
What I am asking is: What are you feeding yourself?
What are we feeding our souls, minds, creativity, brains, bodies, imagination, eyes, tongues, and hearts? Do we make time to feed our souls with the beauty of God's creation? Do we renew our minds with the Word of God? Do we let our God-given creativity blossom regularly? Do we train our brains toward godly thoughts and root out toxic ones? Do we eat fruits and vegetables to fuel our bodies or monitor sweets and salt? Do we tear down vain imaginations and replace them with things that are lovely, noble, and virtuous? Do we guard our eyes against too much TV? Do we train our tongue in speaking what is lovely rather than feeding it gossip, grumbling, and complaints? Do we guard our hearts against compromise and feed it joyful strength?
There's been a lot of hoopla about "self-care" and "self-love" that is utter nonsense. But there is great truth in being faithful to care for ourselves—especially mothers, who are caretakers of our families.
Sometimes I work with women who have no appetite for godly things, even though they are Christians. Often, they are so deprived they don't even know to complain about what they are missing, much like the Mount Everest climbers who are crazed with oxygen deprivation but don't know it and won't apply the oxygen that would save their lives. When these women follow the prescription to cut out all forms of junk-food input, such as the news, social media, and Pinterest—especially Pinterest—and only consume the rich goodness of the Bible, they start to desire time with God. Then, after a short while, that desire bursts into real, healthy hunger for God. (They can then add in the junk food in small quantities if desired.)
Other times I've worked with women who are so exhausted and overwhelmed by the demands of their families, jobs, and community that they cannot function days out of the month. For them, the solution starts with accountability/discipleship, then defining for themselves what is of value to them, then surrendering those to God, then setting up boundaries to protect them, and finally, giving the first part of their day to Christ (which is counterintuitive, I know). When they develop the discipline of connecting with Christ and creating space for pursuing Christ, everything else grows dim except for what He has called them to.
As Christians, we can diagnose what is missing from spiritual our diets and supply it:
Too dry? Need "springs in the desert?" Drench yourself with worship and pray the Psalms word for word.
Too much pride rearing its head? Repent, fast, and ask for God to supply humility.
Feeling vulnerable and "out of favor" with God and man? Repent, then build your spirit-man up by speaking solely in your prayer language for 45 minutes or longer.
Consuming too much knowledge (which can "puff up")? Spend time quietly receiving from the Holy Spirit.
Too much anger? Utilize delay tactics and keep from saying hurtful words, while you release forgiveness and increase prayer time with God (particularly silent communion).
Not enough compassion for others? Serve in the nursery and foodbank.
Sitting around collecting diseases? Get deliverance and radical accountability.
Experiencing fear and anxiety? Get on an anti-fear diet and immerse yourself in a comprehensive study of God's perfect love.
Depression? Get deliverance and radical accountability that includes immersion in worship, silence, community, and intercession.
Experiencing apathy in your devotions? Listen to the soundtrack of something like Passion Of The Christ and let yourself mourn. Then develop intercession and regular fasting.
Need to stir up repentance? Watch something like Passion Of The Christ and let yourself remember what Christ has done.
Need to move forward? Get deliverance and accountability. Surrender completely.
Need courage? Surrender absolutely to Christ.
Need to let God amputate some things or habits? Surrender absolutely to Christ.
Coveting what others have? Cut out Pinterest and any voyeuristic form of media, then start giving away what you have until you can cherish the simple again.
Starting to achieve fame? Get radical accountability and do the deep work to shore up spiritual foundations.
Getting followers? Get radical accountability and do the deep work to shore up spiritual foundations. Learn to intercede.
I hope these are useful as a good start. If you've experienced freedom in any of these areas and have a suggestion, let me know! If you're experiencing one or more of these areas and want help, please reach out to me or to someone who can help.
Grace is available in abundance.