Misplace expectation on food

TITLE: MISPLACE EXPECTATION ON FOOD

TEXT: GENESIS 3: 1-5, DANIEL 1: 5-8

Food is very important to every human being. For a believer to grow fully without any malnutrition or deficiency, he/she needs to feed on both physical and spiritual food.

Physical food nourishes you physical body for growth and development to take place in your body. If you fail to eat all your balanced diet, malnutrition will take place in the body. This can pose danger into our health.

As important as it is to take balanced diet, it is crucial to know that there are some food that you need to avoid so that your health will not be in danger. (1 Cor 6: 12-13) 

Likewise as believers we eat spiritual food together with the physical food so that we can grow both physically and spiritually. (1 Peter 2:2) “

 we need to be spiritually healthy for us to be able to run our Christian race successfully.

Spiritual food nourishes our spiritual man; it draws us closer to God. As believers, if we fail to eat the spiritual food that God wants us to eat, it will lead to spiritual dryness and spiritual undernourishment.  We need to be careful of the spiritual food that we eat. The kingdom of darkness also have their own spiritual food. Examples are lies, hatred, bitterness, anger, unclean spirit, jealousy, strife and so on.

In our text; God told Adam and Eve to eat from every tree in the Garden of Eden, except one particular tree. When the serpent came to deceive Eve, he presented it to her that eating from the forbidden fruit is not bad, but will only make them to be as wise as God.

The serpent already knew what would happen after eating the forbidden fruit, but he presented the deceit in a very good way that was irresistible to them. This was the beginning of the fall of man, the serpent succeeded in breaking the relationship between God, Adam and Eve.

The serpent used his tactics to deceive Eve by making her to see the forbidden fruit as a very good and harmless way of being like God. The devil is still at work of deceiving believers to see some “satanic food” as the best and fastest way to their breakthrough.

The “forbidden fruit” that the devil is using to deceive believer may be sexual immorality, lies, fraud and so on. If you are trying to have a rethink of your actions, he will be giving you a good reason why you are being justified for your actions. That is why you need to constantly ask for God’s leading and direction.

Eve’s expectation when she wanted to eat the fruit was to become like God in knowing good from bad (getting wiser) instead, it brought about separation between them and God. All the benefit they were enjoying from God ceased because of their misplaced expectation.

If we allow the devil to deceive us by bringing something that is against the will of God for us, as a way to our breakthrough, it can break the relationship between God and us. In the quest to “help God” in their situation, some believers have put their expectation on wrong or negative spiritual food that the devil gives, and this has made the glory of God to depart from them.

There are some “forbidden fruits” that God does not want His children to eat. Examples are lies, anger, hatred, jealousy, strife, back-biting, sexual immorality, evil thoughts towards others. (These are spiritual food from the kingdom of darkness.) The devil has his ways of making these things to be attractive to believers.

If you fall into the trap of the devil by yielding to his advice, you will not achieve your expectation, but the devil would accomplish his own purpose, which is to separate you from God. Daniel refused to defile himself with the royal food that the king made available for him. Eating royal food and drink could be the best thing anybody could ask for, but it could be a bait against somebody’s destiny. Not all that glitter is gold!

               WHAT TO DO TO AVOID MISPLACE EXPECTATION

• Ask for God’s direction and guidance before taking any step. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

• Don’t jump at every opportunity without seeking the face of the lord.

• Don’t be enticed with “Rosie” or fast way to breakthrough.

• Make up your mind not to follow the broad way that leads to destruction and death. (Proverbs 14:12)

We should not be ignorant of the devices of the enemy; the devil may present that “poisonous food” in a well presented package, but do not misplace your expectation. Be on your guard against the devices of the enemy.