Monday, May 24, 2021

The Honey Diet

 



There are all kinds of diets out there promising a myriad of health benefits.  Whether it’s the Atkins, Scarsdale, Paleo, Whole 30, or Bone Broth diet, there’s something for everyone! Usually, they involve temporary behavior modification to achieve a short-term weight loss goal without permanently changing one’s eating habits, resulting in the most common diet, the Yo-Yo diet 😊.  I discovered the Bible has a diet it recommends in Proverbs and I think it just might have both short- and long-term benefits for us.  

 

Proverbs 24:13 - Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
    honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.  Know also that wisdom is like honey for you:  If you find it, there is a future hope for you and your hope will not be cut off.

Things to think about:

·       Have you tried one of the popular diets?  Was your experience as described above or did you achieve lasting results?

·       In our verse, Solomon is advocating for a honey diet. Honey is sweet, it gives us energy, and it is plentiful.

·       Solomon likens wisdom to honey. 

o   In what ways do you see wisdom being like honey?

·       Where can we find this kind of honey?

o   Let’s look at three potential sources of honey – God’s Word, the Holy Spirit, and wise people.

·       God’s Word

o   There are many verses that speak to the nourishing effect God’s word has on us

§  Matt. 4:4 – “Man shall not live on bread alone but every word that comes from the mouth of God”

§  Isaiah 55:2   -3 –Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
Incline your ear, and come to Me.  Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The sure mercies of David.’”

o   How does God’s Word satisfy your soul’s hunger?

o   Can you recall a time when His Word gave you exactly what you needed at just the right time?

·       The Holy Spirit

o   John 16:12-13 “… When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears he will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.”

o   1 John 2:27 – “Christ’s anointing teaches you the truth on everything you need to know about yourself and Him, uncontaminated by a single lie. Live deeply in what you were taught.”

o   How has God’s Spirit helped you understand truths that are/were hard to understand on your own?

·       Wise People

o   Jeremiah 3:15 – “And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”

o   Prov. 16:24 – “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

o   Do you have “go-to” people in your life for wisdom and understanding?

o   How is God using you to play that role in someone else’s life?

·       Benefits of the Honey Diet

o   A future hope for you

§  This is the crux of our faith – God has an indescribably wonderful future in store for you

o   A hope that cannot be cut off

§  This is Part B of that indescribable future – it cannot be taken away. 

·       Romans 8:38 – “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

o   I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a diet I can stick to!

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