Eliminate

Have you ever tried to give something up cold turkey?  If you have, then you understand the 7 stages of grief one goes through in trying to painfully let go of what has become a habit, a dear friend, and a constant companion.  I don't know about you but coffee to me is considered a friend--a very, very dear friend.  It has been a week and a half since I've last had a cup of coffee and to put all my emotions into a nutshell--it has not been pleasant.  The love, the comfort, the routine--coffee to me was like a giant blanket and without it, I suddenly was not sure what I was supposed to do.

Luckily, I will not have to say goodbye to my dear friend permanently (My husband has just sighed in relief) but for the next month and a half, I am on what is called an Elimination Diet.  The name sums up the agony justly--you basically eliminate everything from your diet and then gradually add things back in to see what you are eating that is causing your body to be sick.  Its not just the unhealthy foods that you would immediately think of, but its also normal, healthy, common, everyday foods that we don't even think twice about eating.

Elimination is painful--we grow so accustomed to our habits, to our emotions (whether good or bad), to our routines, and to our identities.  We are a culture that is used to adding things but very rarely do we ever eliminate.

I think of Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

What is God asking us to eliminate from our lives?  What are we holding on to so tightly, not willing to let go of, but which is slowly killing us each and every day?  

When we think of giving ourselves up as living sacrifices, we often think this means giving up our dreams, goals, desires.  I truly believe what this verse means is that God wants us to eliminate everything of this world from our lives, so that He can re-introduce the things of eternity into our hearts.  He wants to strip away these dying bodies, these vessels that are poisoned everyday by the things of this world and He wants to fill us with His power and His righteousness so that His dreams, goals, and desires become ours.  We hold onto death, but God longs to give us life.  He longs to heal us, to renew us, to set us apart, but we must be willing to first let go.  Sacrifice is not easy on any scale, whether it is a cup of coffee, a dream for the future, or a hurt from the past.  Anyone who tells you it is easy, hasn't truly sacrificed something.  

Its time to evaluate every aspect of our lives--the good and the bad, its time to be willing to sacrifice our comfort zones, our routines, our identities wholly and completely  to God.  

Elimination hurts, it is a painful process but if you will just hold on---the healing is worth it.  You are worth it.  You can do this.  You have a future of life ahead of you, its time to let go of what is keeping you from your purpose.  The dreams and purpose God has for you is beyond what you can even fathom.  He holds your future but He is waiting for your willing heart.

Don't be discouraged, Don't be overwhelmed--Your God is Here...
Hold On....Your Healing is near.