God's Original Pill Bottle"
My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:19, NIV.
I went to visit a friend the other day and noticed her breakfast table covered with small white bottles—a home pharmacy of vitamins, minerals, and other substances.
Picking up a bottle labeled bee pollen, I asked, "What does this do for you?"
"It gives me energy," she replied. When I held up another bottle, she explained, "This helps control my blood sugar." After my cross-examination, I realized she was convinced of the need to take a handful of pills every day.
In His original plan God planted a garden and told Adam to eat from it freely. A garden supplied all the nutrients he needed for his well-being. It's still true.
Scientists have identified an eating pattern called the Food Guide Pyramid that will supply our daily needs. It recommends five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day. But a recent government survey of households found that only 23 percent of Americans eat at least five fruits and vegetables per day.
Following the Food Guide Pyramid recommendations would meet our daily nutrient needs. But many of us would rather eat refined, processed foods that lack many of the nutritive substances found in fruits and vegetables, and then we take a handful of pills to make up for the deficiency.
Fruits, grains, nuts, and vegetables have thousands of substances, mostly unidentified, that contribute to our health. They are God's "pill bottle" for us! By eating refined and processed foods, we limit our intake of phytochemicals and other helpful substances God designed that we get in our food, and thus have to take human-made supplements.
By participating in daily devotion and prayer we can tap into the incredible power God gives us to make clear, distinct, right decisions regarding our diet. If we subject our wills to God's desires, He will give us the ability to choose a diet that does provide all our daily needs.
Lord, the Creator of all living things, please give me the power to make right choices today that will promote my health and well-being. Help me eat the food You created to meet my nutritional needs, for I know that is Your will for me. Thank You for the wonderful variety of sensory pleasure You provide for sustenance and health. Amen.
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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