Narrow Way

As I was thinking thoughts unto the Lord, I was telling the Father how I wanted to get back on track with my eating habits. After a month of staying away from many carbs in January, March has found me once again going back to my comfortable eating habits and has produced the inevitable weight gain.

Thinking about how I want to simplify my life and how excesses of anything can be an outward manifestation of spiritual disharmony, I realize my 'excess' weight is an indicator of a focus on satisfying my flesh instead of dying to flesh and walking a crucified life.

I don't want that.

As these thoughts were circulating through my head, I began to picture the believer's walk as being one that goes through a passage way. I pictured the new believing person as being very bloated,  and balloon like - fleshly.

Despite the person's condition, he/she was still able to get through the gate but it was an uncomfortable, tight fit.

In order to move forward, the individual had to 'loose' some of his girth. This was fine at first but as the person moved further along the tunnel like passageway, the opening became narrower, forcing the person to stop until more of the excess 'fluff' was gone. In some instances, the narrowness of the tunnel was the instrument itself that shaved off the extra material as the person literally forced himself to move forward through the passageway.

The further along the person went the narrower and narrower the tunnel was  and more and more 'body baggage' had to be removed until the individual was now a normal size silhouette of a person, no longer bloated.

With this new shape, the individual found that the tunnel no longer felt so narrow even though it was much, much narrower than it had been at the beginning of the entrance.

This 'thinking unto the Lord' encouraged me but was also intimidating in that I realize that the further along the path I get with the Lord, He will expect a corresponding maturity and removal of those things that I rely on, lust after, are self willed over, etc.

The Father says, "Fear not for I am with you, I have called you by my name,thou art mine"

I say, 'Help me not to shy away from your chastisings Father but to receive sonship with a glad and grateful heart'