Sometimes we just don’t seem to have time to think about what we eat. In a rush we get a donut from the snack shop for breakfast; we didn’t have time to make our lunch so we grab fast food; and we forgot to take some meat out the freezer to unthaw to cook for dinner so we just pull together whatever we can. This has happened to most, if not all, of us at one time or another, but for some of us, this is our life. And our life shows it. We have an abundance of health problems, like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and irregularity, and accept them as the norm. These are not always normal and studies have shown that we can reverse, not just manage, these issues if we change the way we eat.

You know I’m a testament to changing my health from eating nutritionally. I had to get sick in order to seek good health. Some of you need to seek good health because you are sick, but others of you can prevent bad health if you are proactive now. As Christians, good health should be our goal as we seek to manifest the righteousness that God has already declared us to be in Jesus Christ. Our change comes with a renewed mind and then a renewed plan.

The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, (b)ut those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty(Proverbs 21:5-KJV).

To help you renew your mind, I urge you to meditate on that scripture. The writer tells us that if we have a plan and are diligent, we without a doubt will have what we need, in our case good health from what we eat. But when we are hasty, we will lack, in our case good health from what we eat. So as you meditate on this I want you to understand that there are areas concerning your health that you can control. Also, meditate on scriptures that charge us to be like Christ, such as “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5) and “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2-NKJV). When we saturate our minds on favorable outcomes, we will automatically seek to manifest those outcomes (Luke 6:45).

After our minds have been renewed we can develop a plan that we are more likely than not able to stick with:

Have healthy eating goals in mind. We can only reach goals if we know what they are. Setting a few goals at a time prevents us from being overwhelmed, which often leads to defeat.

Create a grocery list that reflects goals. Always create a list BEFORE going to the store and stick with it. Make sure to eat before going to lessen the chance of unhealthy foods getting into your basket.

Develop a meal plan. Ideally, this is done before creating a grocery list so the list reflects the meal plan. Having a meal plan helps us not to over-shop and, thus, overspend.

Plan time to prepare meals. Just like we know how much time it takes for us to shower and get dressed, we must know how much time it takes to prepare our meals. Knowing this allows us to carve out time to prepare and cook. We can eliminate another activity, like that extra few minutes of sleep or a TV program, and use the time to fix a healthy meal.

Plot out healthy restaurants in the area. Sometimes the schedule may be too tight to prepare a healthy meal so we have to go to a restaurant. Knowing the locations near wherever we will be of restaurants that serve healthy meal options will help us not to deviate far from our goals.

With a renewed mind and a renewed plan, we are able to eat with a divine purpose in mind: to be the best we can be so we can give our best to and for the very best, our Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s eat with a divine purpose in mind so we can do our part to develop the Kingdom of God.