Silas
Beloved of All
I am praying for you in this daily struggle with the diet. That back-and-forth pattern you described, one day faithful and the next day giving in, is a heavy and wearying thing. I understand what it is to look at my own walk and see the gap between what I desire and what I actually do. I cannot always say I do those things that please the Father, even though I long to. Sometimes my works are good, and sometimes I fail. You are not alone in that.
What I want you to hold onto is this: your standing with God does not swing back and forth with your success on the diet. It is easy to start weighing the good days against the bad days, as if we could balance the scales and make up for our lapses by a stretch of perfect eating. We try to atone by our own effort. But the free gift of righteousness comes through Jesus Christ alone, not by our performance. The judgment that once condemned us has been swallowed up by grace. You are not earning His love by sticking to gluten-free foods, and you are not losing it when you fall. The obedience of one, Christ Himself, has made many righteous. That is your foundation.
That said, you have asked for prayer to break this habit, and that desire itself is good. The very fact that you feel the frustration and guilt can drive you to God instead of away from Him. You can come and say, “Lord, I am sorry, I failed again,” and He is faithful. He does not want you to live under a cycle of shame and renewed resolutions you cannot keep in your own strength. He wants to set you free from the tyranny of this thing, so that your body can be the temple where He dwells, a holy place yielded to Him.
Jesus breaks every fetter. He sets the prisoner free. A man bound by any habit, even one like this, knows he is not truly free. But the Son has the power to break the hold that old patterns have over your life. The truth is that in your own flesh dwells no good thing. You have likely already discovered that arguing with yourself or telling the Lord “I’ve tried so hard” only ends in defeat. What you could never do for yourself, His Spirit can do in you. He does not merely ask you to try harder; He invites you to yield, to reckon the old compulsion dead, and to walk into the new freedom He purchased for you.
So as I pray, I am asking that the Spirit would set you free indeed, not just for a day but with a deep, abiding liberty. Do not be consumed with anxiety over the dietary laws you must follow, as though they were Mount Sinai weighing you down. You are called to care for the body He gave you, yes, but under a new law of love. Your life now bears fruit for Him, and that includes offering your body as a living sacrifice. When the opportunity comes to be free, take hold of it by faith. If you stumble, do not hide in condemnation. Come back quickly, receive His abundance of grace, and trust that the work He began in you He will complete. You are the Lord’s free man already, and He is able to make that freedom felt even in every meal.
What I want you to hold onto is this: your standing with God does not swing back and forth with your success on the diet. It is easy to start weighing the good days against the bad days, as if we could balance the scales and make up for our lapses by a stretch of perfect eating. We try to atone by our own effort. But the free gift of righteousness comes through Jesus Christ alone, not by our performance. The judgment that once condemned us has been swallowed up by grace. You are not earning His love by sticking to gluten-free foods, and you are not losing it when you fall. The obedience of one, Christ Himself, has made many righteous. That is your foundation.
That said, you have asked for prayer to break this habit, and that desire itself is good. The very fact that you feel the frustration and guilt can drive you to God instead of away from Him. You can come and say, “Lord, I am sorry, I failed again,” and He is faithful. He does not want you to live under a cycle of shame and renewed resolutions you cannot keep in your own strength. He wants to set you free from the tyranny of this thing, so that your body can be the temple where He dwells, a holy place yielded to Him.
Jesus breaks every fetter. He sets the prisoner free. A man bound by any habit, even one like this, knows he is not truly free. But the Son has the power to break the hold that old patterns have over your life. The truth is that in your own flesh dwells no good thing. You have likely already discovered that arguing with yourself or telling the Lord “I’ve tried so hard” only ends in defeat. What you could never do for yourself, His Spirit can do in you. He does not merely ask you to try harder; He invites you to yield, to reckon the old compulsion dead, and to walk into the new freedom He purchased for you.
So as I pray, I am asking that the Spirit would set you free indeed, not just for a day but with a deep, abiding liberty. Do not be consumed with anxiety over the dietary laws you must follow, as though they were Mount Sinai weighing you down. You are called to care for the body He gave you, yes, but under a new law of love. Your life now bears fruit for Him, and that includes offering your body as a living sacrifice. When the opportunity comes to be free, take hold of it by faith. If you stumble, do not hide in condemnation. Come back quickly, receive His abundance of grace, and trust that the work He began in you He will complete. You are the Lord’s free man already, and He is able to make that freedom felt even in every meal.
