Mysty PfefferWelcome to week one of the STRENTH Approach to Christian Wellness. This week I will share with you my favorite way to combat the enemy of fear, doubt, shame, pride, and illness! I don’t say that lightly, it is a daily battle! I believe the victory starts with the S in STRENGTH, S=Strategies for Lasting Change.
Strategies for lasting change begin with small steps that lead to big changes.
The first strategy is to pray for more of God and less of self. A focus on self will always find discontent because it is on wants instead of needs. The focus is on the thoughts and desires of the world and not God.
Second, pray about what God is calling you and me to change in our lives. It may be in an area of relationship, health, addiction, anxiety, or lifestyle choices. The change you and I decide to make may improve how we function in our home, workplace, social gatherings, or church.
Since we are three-part beings; mind, body, and spirit, everything around us and what we put in us matters! Just living through the past two years of 2020 and 2021 has impacted our mental and physical stability. We can’t escape the enticement to fear/anger/anxiety in a toxic culture, but we can create strategies for change that help us cope more effectively and last a lifetime.
Reacting in anger, distancing ourselves from others, reaching for substances or food to find comfort are all vices we reach for to help control emotions.
Whatever the personal struggle giving us some form of comfort, even when we know it’s not healthy; we can name it. And pray for God to place it beneath Him in our desires. We can be sure, we are not alone in our struggle; He loves us and wants us to succeed.
“For I’m sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present not things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 ESV
Moreover, if we are a people struggling with deteriorating health or battling emotional overeating, poor quality food choices, inactivity, or lack of knowledge; this is a safe place to confront destructive behavior and explore new options. We can connect for a free 30-minute consultation any time. All without judgement or condemnation.
Although, we may want more energy, feel calmer, live healthier, and think more clearly, there is comfort in settling where we are. Using tools like the “wheel of life survey” helps clarify areas of potential dissatisfaction. The Values in Action survey determine ingrained strength to lean into as we approach the change process.
Once God reveals the area of discontent, we can pray about removing obstacles, habits, or desires that conflict with his divine plan for our well-being.
Remember, change begins when we want something better.
Strategies for Lasting Change
- Pray for more of God and less of self.
- Pray about what God is asking me to change in my life.
- Pray for a desire to eat God’s plan of nutrition designed the 3rd day in the garden to restore, sustain, and heal the mind and body. We have been deceived! There are so many substances in processed food that interfere with brain function! Look at this quote from a PubMed article:
“The most frequently encountered food excitotoxin is glutamate (Glu) which is commercially added to many foods despite evidence that it can freely penetrate certain brain regions and rapidly destroy neurons by hyperactivating the NMDA subtype of Glu receptor. “
NMDA (N -methyl-D-aspartate receptor) in the brain is affected by MSG monosodium glutamate is many processed foods. Kicking it out of our systems and replacing it with natural food from God’s Garden sets us on a path to healing.
- Pray for Him to remove the desire for highly processed food with additives, preservatives, and chemicals that are harmful to the cells. Reach instead for foods that coat and protect the brain cells and calm the nerves.
- Cast out fear of viruses and plagues by concentrating instead on building our immune system.
- Pray for him to remove fear, anxiety, or anger that is destroying our relationships. Trust and believe that God will give us more of Him and less of the world. Its empty promises are no match for the abundant life we find in our Creator!
Prayer for Lasting Change
The strategies for lasting change my friend, begin with prayer. Seeking God in all we do gives us more strength because He IS our strength. I am here with you and for you, and will be happy to pray for you as you enter this phase of change.
Prayer:
Father God, I come to you humble, bare, and stripped of all barriers blocking my submission to your plan and your ways. Spiritually and physically, I need you now more than ever. I see your power and loving plan for me and others in creation. For your invisible attributes, namely your eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world (Romans 1:19) and more recently in the microscopic evidence of your plants. How glorious and wonderful you are, my God and Savior! May I understand today that although all things are lawful, not all things are beneficial or build me up (1 Cor. 10:23). It’s a hard truth, but for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself (1 Cor. 11:29) Help me learn a better way! Please help me see the damage of chemicals in food that are making me sick and change my desire for them to foul and disgusting! I cannot do it on my own, I need you, Holy Spirt to guide me in each moment of weakness. I thank you for the victory today, Lord; for it is yours and yours alone! In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
References:
Olney JW. Excitotoxins in foods. Neurotoxicology. 1994 Fall;15(3):535-44. PMID: 7854587.
