Life Changes

Curled over clutching my stomach in pain, I was all too aware of what I had been trying to avoid for well over a year -  I was gluten intolerant. Gluten-based food was making me sick; yet I kept on eating it, living in denial hoping, maybe – this time - I’d be okay.  

Here’s what I painfully discovered: ignoring a problem does not make it go away.  Doing the exact same thing over and over changes nothing, in fact it usually makes matters worse. The stomach problems only increased after each glutinous intake causing me to cancel appointments and miss out on events.

During my most recent episode racked with pain and saying “Never again”, I really did decide – never again.  The Holy Spirit had got through to this tough nut at last, telling me “If you do not face your problems, they will not go away, you need to make some life changes”

Of course, it wasn’t lost on me that this didn’t only apply to food, but also to the bad habits and sinful behaviour patterns I was struggling with.  Talk about God having to take strong measures to get my attention!

I hadn’t wanted to admit I had issues with gluten, neither did I want to accept or cease the sin in my life.  I was afraid to make life changes in case God did not come through for me. It seemed easier to just carry on as I was in my miserable condition.
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My journey the last 5 years has been no glutinous cakewalk.  I’ve physically and emotionally hurt, I’ve been disappointed, I’ve suffered losses and felt acute grief.  I know I am in a pruning and character building season but I’ve been bucking against it all the way. Yet throughout Jesus has revealed to me by grace that He is the Good Shepherd watching over my life.
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God has been taking things away that do me harm and the pain has been part of the process, revealing what is within me when the pressure is on.  I can see He’s been setting me free step by step and am humbled like Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:
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But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
​2 Cor 12:9-10

I cannot boast in myself at all.  I’ve discovered what I thought was good in me, is not whatsoever; and that what is bad in me doesn’t stop God loving me either.  All I know is that I’m more real than I’ve ever been, holding on with child-like faith.

2 years ago, I became dairy intolerant and I had another period of denial and pain before I accepted life changes needed to be made.  The crux of the matter has been coming to terms with giving up what is not good for me – even though I still crave it. The desire to eat dairy and gluten don’t leave me, and neither do the habits of a life time want to go either.  Oh, but the consequences – are they worth it? Think slowly about that one.

Now sometime into a gluten elimination diet I am already much better.  I have recognised that to see change, I have to make some life changes.

I’ve learned that Jesus really is my Shepherd and He is looking after me - his sheep. (Sheep aren’t the smartest creatures around, getting themselves tangled up and off track).  He knows me in my weakness yet He loves and pursues me unconditionally even in my biggest messes – especially even!

​My Good Shepherd doesn’t just wrench this Sheep out of the barbed wire or bushes – no, He untangles me bit by bit.  This is what He is doing in our own lives, that’s why it’s a process.

Sometimes it takes time to give things up.  We may not be ready, or we may be unwilling, perhaps even facing other issues that cloud the main one.  The journey may appear to be somewhat of a dog leg trek, but I can testify that God never gives up on us! And along the way reveals His true unconditional love which changes our lives.

What are you struggling with?  What symptoms are you trying to ignore?  Is the tolerance of sin still winning over the pain of obedience?  The truth is that making good choices isn’t easy. Our flesh wants what is bad, our spirit cries out for God.
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But if we want to see a different result, if we desire to be free, we need to accept that life changes are necessary.  We can trust God, we can trust Jesus the Good Shepherd. God really does and will come through for us. 

Karen Frith

Meet Karen. She's a wife, mum and life coach as well as a prophetic voice and keen intercessor with an infectious passion for life.
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You'll find her at Time to Fly Free, where she honestly and powerfully shares from her own journey and offers a range of coaching and mentoring services.