Scripture to Memorize
She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
Proverbs 31:14–15
Passage to Read
But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”
Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.
Daniel 1:11–15
Guided Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for including the story of Daniel in the Bible. I know everything that’s written was included for my encouragement and instruction. It’s amazing to think that these four teenagers had the courage to take a stand against the culture, even though they were captives in a foreign land. They weren’t willing to go with the flow, not even in the area of diet.
I must confess that my tendency is to be conformed to the pattern of this world when it comes to my eating habits. What an inspiration to read about believers who were willing to say God is God over every area of our lives, not just the so-called spiritual stuff!
What’s really encouraging about this story is the outcome. When they chose food you provided (vegetables and water) rather than food the world had prepared, they were blessed.
Holy Spirit, strengthen me to make better food choices. Help me escape autopilot mode and really begin to think before I eat. I resolve, beginning today, to put this to the test for the next ten days. I’m going to eat your food (specifically, vegetables and water). At the end of that time, let’s see how I look and feel. I’m excited about this new adventure. But I’ll need your help, Holy Spirit, to stand firm in this resolve. I know you’ll help me. Amen.
Personal
The Proverbs 31 woman brought her food from afar. She was willing to go to extra trouble to ensure that she and her family ate right. Daniel is another example of someone who believed it was important to observe healthy eating habits, even when doing so involved a lot of extra effort. The Proverbs 31 woman didn’t eat healthy because it was convenient; she was willing to do what was inconvenient. The same is true for Daniel. He put himself on the line and put his guardian to a great deal of inconvenience to eat healthily. If you hope to follow in their footsteps, don’t expect eating healthily to be convenient for you. Eating healthily has always taken extra effort and it always will. But it’s worth it.
You’ve probably heard the old joke about Daniel. It’s said that the reason the lions couldn’t eat him was because he was all backbone. Unfortunately many Christians today are all wishbone and no backbone. We need to be like Daniel. He took control of what he ate and, when the real test came, even the lions couldn’t eat him up.
What’s eating you? Maybe if you resolve to control what you eat, you would make some progress in the battle against what’s eating you. If you’re like most women, one item high on your list is your concern about weight gain. It seems almost everyone these days is battling at least an extra ten or fifteen pounds. If you’re like me, it’s a constant battle: up and down, up and down like a yo-yo. Sound familiar?
Daniel resolved to take charge of his eating habits. The word resolve is fascinating. It means:
The last definition is perhaps the most helpful. If you want to know what to eat and what not to eat, let resolve be your guide. Move all the known quantities to one side (if you know what it is, you can eat it). Move all the unknown quantities to the other side (if you can’t even pronounce it and have no idea what it is, don’t eat it). Pretty simple formula, isn’t it? And I’ll bet you sat in Algebra class saying, “When will I ever use this in the real world?”
You can read the rest of the story about Daniel and his three teenage friends for yourself. In a nutshell, it says they not only looked better, they were healthier physically. Can a change in diet have that dramatic of an impact? I believe the answer is yes. Don’t take my word for it. Put it to the test yourself. For the next ten days, resolve to eat and drink only vegetables and water. At the end of ten days, see how much better you look and feel.1
Best of all, research indicates that children take their eating cues from the adults in their lives. You’ve heard it said, “You are what you eat.” Well, your kids are what you eat, too. If you live on junk food, so will they. If you model healthy eating, there’s a fighting chance they might just follow in your footsteps. Make the changes for your sake and your family’s sake.
Affirmation: I resolve to exercise control over my eating habits.
Take the ten-day vegetable-and-water-resolve challenge and begin your new diet today.
Notebook: Mark your calendar for ten days of eating and drinking only vegetables and water. If the thought of living without protein horrifies you, add tofu, nuts, seeds, some peanut butter, or cheese to your celery sticks.2