“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” Psalm 51:10
The first four months of this year were some of the most focused weeks for me mainly because I was fasting from sugar. I shared in my Selah Blog "The Living Water" during Lent that God placed me on a sugar fast because my dependence on it had grown out of control and was beginning to cause a variety of low-level health issues that included migraine headaches. So, on January 1st, I parted ways with sugar.
I hit my stride once Lent began. I was drinking close to a gallon of water (infused with lemon) daily, my skin was glowing, the headaches had subsided, and I had moved past craving sweets. I was also connected with God on a deeper level, reading the Word, writing, and the ideas for my Sunday Night Sessions Podcast and my Selah Blog were flowing.
And then Lent ended, and I introduced myself to the Corner Bakery. Biggest. Mistake. Ever.
You know how you know that you know that you should not open Pandora’s Box? Well, that’s what the Corner Bakery was for me, a door that led me away from my glow, away from my centered self, away from that flowing relationship with God. Now, a little over six weeks from the end of Lent, I can feel myself marching back into a sugar-dependent life, baking my own sweets, gobbling my “point of no return” candies (Turtles and M&Ms) at every turn, which cause fatigue, the return of my headaches and less focus on communicating with God.
BUT
God is an amazing God because he loves us despite our weaknesses. He loves us so much that he sent our helper, the Holy Spirit, to whisper instruction into our spirits. For weeks now, the Holy Spirit has been offering the solution to my problem. He has been whispering in my ear saying, “return to the fast, Candance”, to help me realign with my God and my focus.
See, this is bigger than sugar. This is about obedience. The more obedient I am the more God can communicate with me. The more God communicates with me, the stronger I become. The stronger I become, the more God can use me to help others. The more God uses me to help others, the more they will be willing to connect with God. The more they are willing to connect with God, the more God will use them to help others. The enemy knows this, which is why he uses our flesh to pull us away from the cycle. God know this, which is why He sends the Holy Spirit to lead us back. We just need to hear and be obedient to His tender promptings.
So, today, I am listening and leaning on Psalm 51:10, asking God to “create in me a clean heart…and renew a right spirit within me”. Did you catch that? Not just to renew a spirit within me, but a right spirit, an obedient spirit that is willing to deny my flesh in order to develop a deeper relationship with the Lord, and to be used as part of the cycle to help others. And if being part of this beautiful cycle means giving up sugar, then so be it.
