2nd December
Devotions, Interrupted
Entering a Sydney café on 20th December, 1991, a familiar dilemma began to brew. What would I allow myself? The menu boasted sumptuous sandwiches and delicious home-baked cakes. But once again, I was stuck in the battle between satisfying my very real hunger and the fear of gaining weight. So, I limited myself to a pot of tea – with milk.
While relaxing with my treat, however, some words unexpectedly penetrated my soul.
Your body is a temple. So imagine my astonishment when opening my bible at random to read, 1 Corinthians 6:19—20: ‘Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you… Therefore honour God with your bodies.’
I was enroute to participate in training, mission and serving the poor with YWAM. But in that moment, God gently interrupted my understanding of devotion to him as I glanced down and saw with fresh eyes, a self-inflicted protruding rib cage, fanning out across my skinny torso. God delighted in my daily devotions of prayer, scripture reading, serving his church and pursuing his will. But my body could be a devoted vessel too, to honour and worship his presence residing within.
As Mary was filled with divine life when God miraculously conceived his Son within her,
I too was a living, breathing temple of the Holy Spirit. And in time, as I devoted myself to honour this truth, I found peace with a healthier body weight too.
There is much to inspire and challenge us in these verses, which I include in my book, dwell. For now, as Christmas approaches again, let’s allow God to refresh our understanding of devotion to him as his living temple, and how we may convey his indwelling presence to the people we meet and the places we’ll be.
