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God will use our recovery from diet addiction to grow us in wisdom. As we draw closer to Him, depending on Him instead of diets to save us, we’ll learn more about His Word and His ways.

As difficult as this journey can be–the ups and downs, the beautiful thing is that we’re learning more about who God is than about the latest diet fad. We’re spending time crying out to God, searching His Word, being accountable to Him instead of a diet program.

Growing in wisdom is a gain that’s greater than any weight loss.

I believe God longs for us to be wise. When Jesus sent His disciples out, He told them He was sending them out among wolves. He warned…

“Be wise as serpents
and harmless as doves.”
Matthew 10:16

This message is reinforced by Paul who said in Romans 16:19 to be “wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.”

May God use our daily challenges to teach us to be wise in what is good!

I needed to be more wise on a recent trip. My sweet sister-in-law called to see if I was okay with her bringing Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream over. I didn’t stop to think long about it. Thinking that I can eat anything in moderation, I said yes.

While it’s true that I can eat anything, it’s not true that I can eat the entire carton in a week. And the price I’ve paid in the malaise of my spirit and returning to focusing on the Spirit instead of my flesh has been high.

I was not wise in my choice of understanding the danger this Blue Bell temptation would be for me. I should’ve said no to her gracious question. There are some foods that can trigger my appetite and I just need to keep them out of hand’s reach. I needed to be wise as a serpent.

So how do we learn to be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove? Consider these things I’ve learned about serpents.

Snakes have senses that other animals don’t. Snakes don’t smell; instead their forked tongues taste chemical compositions in the air. Snakes don’t have eyelids or ears and their eyes don’t move. To hear, they feel vibrations through the ground.

May God give us a spiritual sense through the Holy Spirit to see and hear and taste what is true rather than what we experience through our five senses alone. 

Snakes know to get out of the cold since they can’t produce heat.

May God give us the wisdom to avoid danger and temptation–to get out of the cold that will freeze our desire for good.

Snakes don’t have to eat often because their metabolisms are so slow.

This can just be an unspoken prayer!

Snakes adapt to their environment. Corn snakes use their scales to climb bark. The Paradise Tree Snake of southeast Asia can “fly” by swinging its body into the air and flattening to a C-shape.

May God give us the wisdom to adapt to any environment to thrive–even on vacation, at parties, over holidays–so that we walk in His Spirit instead of our flesh.

Snakes don’t attack humans. When threatened, they try not to be noticed. Snakes use camouflage for protection.

May God give us the wisdom to react for self-preservation in pursuing goodness instead of reacting out of our emotions and turning to food to meet needs that only God can.

“Therefore be careful how you walk,
not as unwise men but as wise.”
Ephesians 5:15