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Health Devotional
Intolerance
Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages of what does not satisfy? Isa. 55:2, NKJV.
June came into my office complaining of serious abdominal difficulties. After taking a careful history and performing her exam, I told her that she might have a lactase enzyme deficiency. Her stomach did not properly digest dairy products, causing bloating, cramps, gas, or watery diarrhea. Consequently, I recommended that she avoid all dairy products for the next three weeks.
June was skeptical. However, a short time later she was back in the office convinced that we indeed had identified the problem. A dairy-free diet had caused her symptoms to vanish.
The irony of June’s story is that she no doubt had many good reasons for using dairy products. Perhaps she felt it was a good source of calcium or protein. Or perhaps she just simply liked the taste. Nonetheless, no matter how good they seemed, they were causing her untold misery.
Although there are growing concerns about the health effects of dairy products, my focus is not to condemn, but to recognize that it is a food group that commonly causes acute problems often not recognized by the people afflicted.
This provides us with an illustration. Even though we’ve grown up with something-for example, dairy products-it doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily good for us. In some cases it can even undermine our health.
In contrast, another “dairy product,” “the pure milk of the word” (1 Peter 2:2, NKJV), can be digested by all who are willing to receive the Spirit’s illumination. In the physical realm a food may cause problems for some individuals even if the majority classify it as not all that bad or even good or excellent. So in the spiritual realm, the Spirit through the Word may convict you to cut certain things out of your life. These things may not be bad in themselves-they may be all right or even desirable for others to do. However, because of your nature and tendencies, the only route to your total health-spiritually or physically-involves leaving that practice out of your life.
Lord, my prayer is that I will be “heart smart,” and that You will create in me a pure mind. Amen.
June came into my office complaining of serious abdominal difficulties. After taking a careful history and performing her exam, I told her that she might have a lactase enzyme deficiency. Her stomach did not properly digest dairy products, causing bloating, cramps, gas, or watery diarrhea. Consequently, I recommended that she avoid all dairy products for the next three weeks.
June was skeptical. However, a short time later she was back in the office convinced that we indeed had identified the problem. A dairy-free diet had caused her symptoms to vanish.
The irony of June’s story is that she no doubt had many good reasons for using dairy products. Perhaps she felt it was a good source of calcium or protein. Or perhaps she just simply liked the taste. Nonetheless, no matter how good they seemed, they were causing her untold misery.
Although there are growing concerns about the health effects of dairy products, my focus is not to condemn, but to recognize that it is a food group that commonly causes acute problems often not recognized by the people afflicted.
This provides us with an illustration. Even though we’ve grown up with something-for example, dairy products-it doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily good for us. In some cases it can even undermine our health.
In contrast, another “dairy product,” “the pure milk of the word” (1 Peter 2:2, NKJV), can be digested by all who are willing to receive the Spirit’s illumination. In the physical realm a food may cause problems for some individuals even if the majority classify it as not all that bad or even good or excellent. So in the spiritual realm, the Spirit through the Word may convict you to cut certain things out of your life. These things may not be bad in themselves-they may be all right or even desirable for others to do. However, because of your nature and tendencies, the only route to your total health-spiritually or physically-involves leaving that practice out of your life.
Lord, my prayer is that I will be “heart smart,” and that You will create in me a pure mind. Amen.
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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