Supplements that I’ve added to my routine to help prevent Gallbladder surgery. These have an affect on bile production and dissolving the stones which are made of cholesterol. I’ve made dietary changes as well.
“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
I have been trying for years to figure out how to put God first in everything and failing miserably. So for my benefit, as well as the benefit of anyone who is interested, I plan to study and do my next blogposts (total of four) on putting God first in health, in dealing with others, in church, and in life.
Today I’m starting with health, because this has become an issue of utmost importance to me. Since June, I’ve been struggling with worsening stomach pain, which has turned to what is probably gallbladder attacks. My original problems started with my stomach. I was treated for ulcers, based only on symptoms, in August. The medicine didn’t help. The stomach, gallbladder, and liver all function together as a part of the digestion system. There are several things that can cause problems with the gallbladder, but the one I’m looking at for myself are high cortisol levels. It is so important for everyone to reduce stress in their lives. And instead of stressing, turn every problem you have over to God.
Last Thursday I had to leave my Bible study due to pain and nausea and what felt like a heart attack, but I talked myself out of having one and after a few hours the worst part subsided. A doctor’s appointment and abdominal ultrasound showed a Gallbladder with stones and sludge. You have to have an endoscopy to see ulcers. So immediately the office signs me up for Gallbladder surgery and I have a surgical consult scheduled for January 27th.
The good news is, this gives me time to work on my problems.
Newsflash to the doctors: I’m not having their surgery unless it becomes an emergency, and I plan to take care of business before that happens.
Where does God come in?
He wants us to take care of HIS TEMPLE. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Having problems with His Temple, shows that I have done a lousy job in the past.
What would putting God first in health look like?
- Studying His Word on what and how to eat, how to live (i.e. rest, sleep, and Sabbath), and looking at how He designed the body to work.
- Studying what causes disease and avoiding those things.
- Eating what He called “good” when He first created the world.
A walk with food through the Bible:
- In Genesis 1:11-12 God made seed-bearing plants and trees with seed-bearing fruit. And God called it good.
- In Genesis 9:2-4 after Noah’s flood, God gave His permission to eat animals with the only stipulation being to “never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it.”
- In Leviticus 11 we see the food rules given to the Jews for clean and unclean animals.
- In Daniel 1:8-16 we see Daniel and his three friends becoming healthier than their counterparts on just vegetables and water.
- Mark 7:19 shows that God declared all food acceptable in God’s eyes, but it is put in parenthesis. Why? Was it an add on? There are other areas in the New Testament that address all foods being acceptable like in Peter’s dream in Acts 10:9-15.
- Romans 14:20 says, “Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.” (NIV) And Hebrews 13:9 and Colossians 2:20-23 addresses strange teachings and rules on foods that people will push on you, while 1 Timothy 4 says this will occur more in the latter days.
- 1 Timothy 4:4 tells us that everything God created for food is good as long as it is “received with thanksgiving.”
- And Revelation 22:2 says, “…On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” (NIV) (I always think essential oils when I read that verse.)
- And, as far as exercise — 1 Timothy 4:8 tells you that “physical training is of some value”
- But, the most important of all is to put God first in your life. Obedience, getting rid of pride, getting rid of gluttony, fearing God not man (Matthew 10:28, Proverbs 29:25, Acts 5:29, Luke 1:4-5), and putting God before mankind.
What did God initially create that He called good? I don’t think His trees and plants had cherry pound cake and chocolate pie growing off of them. (Note to self, maybe I should find something healthier to feed my family for dessert at Christmas celebrations.) We are always trying to improve on His work, aren’t we?
And they tell us not to eat bread but google how many scriptures address bread in the Bible and depending on the version you will get: “over 300 times, with estimates around 361 times (280 OT, 82 NT)”.
So… is bread good or bad?
I can’t think that bread is bad if you use God’s design of sourdough, and keep your ingredients pure (einkorn, whole wheat, organic, flours ect.) After all manna (bread from heaven) called “the grain of heaven” in Psalm 78:24 while verse 25 calls it the “bread of angels” sounds pretty good to me, and it kept the Israelites alive as they wandered through the dessert.
Now I’m going to throw in some wisdom from the book, Full — Food, Jesus, And The Battle For Satisfaction, by Asheritah Ciuciu:
Beginning in Genesis 9:3 “God opened for humans a whole realm of food possibilities, including meat from animals. But as with many things in this fallen world, what God intends to be a blessing can quickly become a burden when we allow others to shape our view of God’s gift….Depending on which ‘expert’ you’re following, you have probably heard that meat, carbs, and dairy will all kill you; but you’ll find just as many ‘experts’ on the other side telling you that not eating these types of foods will bring dreadful consequences as well. It’s tempting to vilify entire food groups. I’ve gone through stages of avoiding one food item or another, only to discover that whatever I do, I’m pretty much doomed to die….In moments like these, remember that food is not the enemy. Food is a gift from a loving Father meant to point us toward Him in joyful worship each time we take a bite. However I’m not advocating an anything-goes approach to eating. We need to be wise and discerning with what we put into our bodies and in what quantities, especially since we live in a society filled with artificial foods. I’m simply saying, let’s step back and recognize food as it was originally intended to be. (pp. 156-157) Many of us have ingrained eating habits that are destructive to our health, whether that’s the food choices we make, the size of our portions, or even the mental obsession….it is our responsibility to be wise stewards of our bodies and make wise choices, and this includes avoiding foods that may harm our bodies….Eating in a way that glorifies God, that points people to Jesus instead of drawing attention to our eating habits is a good thing. And because of this, I’m convinced that God will give us the knowledge, strength, and determination to make healthy choices.”(pp. 165-166) (- Ashertitah Ciuciu)
We also need to recognize God’s genius plan of biofeedback He has put into our bodies to know if we are full and if we are eating something we should not eat.
I am going to attach two great resources that may be helpful to those who want to dig deeper.
The following link is on what the Bible says about food and eating.
https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-foods.html
The link below is about why you should not get your gallbladder removed, but I loved it most of all for what it showed me on how intricately an AMAZING GOD designed our bodies to work and heal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN7Rpa3uVAQ
How do you put God first in maintaining good health? Please comment below.