Sugar is sweet.....

Sugar. I love sugar. I love everything about it. I love its sweet taste. I love white sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, raw cane sugar.....you name it, I'm a fan. Not only do I love the taste of sugar and what it can do to my favorite pasty, desert or snack but I like how it makes me feel after eating it. There is just something about the little burst of energy that seems to immediately follow a sweet snack, it's almost a rush. I feel a little warm, a little jazzed.

Of course, eating sugar does have its down falls. It isn't long after eating a candy-bar as an afternoon snack that the fall from the sugar high comes rolling in. That energetic feeling I once had is gone and has left me with an almost lethargic feeling, maybe even a little sleepy. The only way to avoid or reverse the effects of the fall from a sugar-high to have more sugar. Well, isn't that an awesome idea? It's almost impossible to resist. What started out as just one candy-bar has now become a candy-bar, a soda, and a cup cake. Now, not only have I eaten far too many calories and blew my eating plan for the day but now I'm faced with another set of symptoms that come from overindulgence. I get a the jitters, a stomach ache and quite possibly a headache.......and guilt. Doesn't that sound awesome?

I know all of this going in. I know that I'll get a sugar high that will eventually be followed by a fall. I know I'll be tempted to take in more sugar to offset it's effects and then I'll feel sick afterward. But all of that doesn't seem to matter when it all starts because I LOVE SUGAR. Completely rational, right?

The truth is that many times I go looking for a sugary snack when I am bothered by something else. I'm sure I'm not alone. I'm either stressed or tired or maybe even bored. Maybe I'm angry or someone has offended me. The list of things that may 'trigger' a trip to the vending machine is incredibly long. It's not rational to think that a sugary snack (or several of them) is going to resolve what's bothering me yet I search for something to make me feel better.

GREAT NEWS if you struggle like I do. There is a better......perfect way.

1 Peter 5:6-9 (NIV)

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

The bible also says:

Psalms 55:22 (NLT)

Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

In the Amplified version is says "He will sustain and uphold you".

The trip to the pantry in search for a sugary treat won't sustain us. It is short lived and temporary. Not only is it temporary, it inevitably make us feel guilty and worse than when we started. 

Food, even sugary treats, are a gift and something that has been given to us for our body to enjoy but it wasn't designed to satisfy our spirit. Only God can do that. This isn't to say that we can't enjoy a piece of birthday cake at a birthday party or a piece of fudge at the company Christmas party but lets make sure that sugar (or any other vise) has it's place and it's place is not to take the place of the Lord. Lets give our stress, our cares, our fatigue to the Lord rather than turning to another handful of gummy bears.