Soulfood 9/18-will not be a slave to any

1 Corinthians 6:12 (NKJV)
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

During the summer, I’d joined a friend of mines in walking 5 am until 6 am. Sometimes we’d get there even a bit earlier than that. It was really wonderful to get out and walk, hard to get up but truly wonderful once we hit the payment/street and often times it would go by really fast because we were able to talk to one another. On Saturday’s we’d switch up the routine by going to one of the popular walking destinations here in Philadelphia (not keeping it a secret, simply escapes my mind at the moment:)) and the first walk we’d taken, I noticed shortly after arriving home I had this intense headache. Figured it must be due to the fact that I’m working out now, 6 days a week and therefore need to make sure I increase my calories. At that time my eating was like clockwork, I’d have a bowl of oatmeal with some cranberries and agave nectar, a piece of fruit, salad for dinner during my salad for a month period, and more varied during dinner. And I wasn’t counting calories as consistently so figured I needed to do so and also eat something before going on my walk. Went with a cereal bar from Whole Foods and added other foods between my meals. Week after week I’d still have headaches so I thought it was due to something else that I’d need to go see the doctor for. The Holy Spirit made me aware of my daily coffee habit. I’d come to realizes Saturday was the only day that I didn’t drink it and that I was getting headaches because now I’m addicted to the stuff.

I had a bit of an attitude about that actually, especially being I’m not THAT big a fan of coffee but I’d gotten into a habit of drinking it either out of boredom, hoping it would help keep me awake on the job, some times I’d have a taste for it but mostly I’d felt it went well with cream and sugar, that was the true culprit in terms of driving me to it but it was the coffee that was the true addiction. I tried to go cold turkey and the headache was so bad I couldn’t do it. Then I decided to do less coffee more cream. Well that simply revealed my need to let up on the cream and sugar also, it only made me more comfortable about drinking it and I was using raw sugar or agave nectar so that would be my excuse to keep it going. Every day I’d have to get in some coffee, no longer have a maker at home so each Saturday, before I’d do anything I’d walk to get my cup of Joe. To prevent my headache of course.

All the while I’m telling people of my coffee addiction and how I will not be mastered by it I will not be a slave to it so it has to go! Yet my fear of the headaches and the comfort of having that hotness in my hand to sip on loaded with sugar and cream made me realize I didn’t truly want to release it. Not the level of difficulty to do so but comfort zone coupled with something I’d enjoyed. Until this past Saturday, my church family and myself were planning on going on our first church picnic until the rain put a damper on that outing. Once I got the call that it was cancelled, it dawned on me that I hadn’t gone out to get coffee and it would be just a matter of hour an hour or so before that headache would rear it’s ugly head. And sure enough it kicked in, this time I was truly fed up and said I don’t care how bad it gets, I refuse to go out and buy a coffee today. And it got bad because it’s not just a headache, thought I was experiencing a migraine with these things let me add, but it’s not just headache it’s nausea, queasy among other things. I was laying on my couch in unbearable pain and discomfort until I prayed that the Lord would remove the headaches so that I could be delivered from this addiction. Then I took an Aleive which wasn’t due to a lack of faith but wisdom actually:) And typically this doesn’t work but so much the pain is not much less unbearable with it. About an hour after taking it I was pain free, still felt a bit queasy and nauseous but the headache had gone. Got to wondering if God answered my prayers because as I said, the pills only do but some much with these headaches. Decided to skip the coffee the next day but try some decaf instead (still coffee I know) and see how far I’d get. Long story short it’s Tuesday as I write this and I have not had a cup of caffinated coffee since Saturday and no headaches!!! I praise God and I notice that I’m still getting a bit nauseous but nothing umbearable and the most important thing that I wouldn’t have been able to battle, just would have needed to let pass was removed for me thanks to my generous Abba:)

I thought about it afterwards like wow did I pray in in the past for the Lord to remove the headaches or simply give me strength to endure or to push through it? Sure it was the latter and it was quite convicting of how I need to take everything to God. Thought I was but what I prayed for was the issue. And this situation served as a hands on example of what 1 Corinthians was talking about. Part of why I prayed for strength because in my thinking I wouldn’t be mastered so I was going to stand firm against it. Yet in this situation it wasn’t about standing firm it was a need to go to my Father so that I would not be mastered. Who’d think something so small as coffee can have a hold on a person. Sunday my pastor’s wife was teaching in Sunday School on her sinuses being her idol for 7 years. She could only breath out of her mouth because she had issues with her sinuses. It was only when she truly submitted it to the Lord that her passage way was open and she hasn’t had an issue since. These are things we wouldn’t easily identify as having mastered us yet it can end up causing issue in so many areas of our walk, namely knowing we’re not in control of an area of our lives. And not in a sense that WE are in control but that it’s not submitted that it’s not dead or even any wrestling involved. Simply submitting to that thing as it leads.

I encourage each reader to take a moment to examine your daily activities, are there any things, places, people that are masters over your life? Many of us have food as a master, money, husbands, wives, sex and so on without even realizing the work it’s doing in our lives and our walk. One way that my coffee addiction was an issue for my walk is people saw me stating I would give it up, just to come in the door the next day with another cup because “I just don’t want that headache you know”. It doesn’t mean I will never drink coffee again, it does mean I will not be mastered by it, it will not rule me nor will it be an addiction for me to have to battle. If you find that you have a thing, a lawful thing let me add that has mastered you, pray and ask God to totally release you from it, THEN pray for that strength to keep on in avoidance or limiting of it. Some things has to be totally let go of for some of us. Others it’s learning how to properly utilize and enjoy in moderation. Whatever your situation is pray that He would make you whole in this area and that you’ll exclaim like I did that the Lord delivered me from “Fill in the Blank”!.

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