Beware Of The Bear

BEWARE OF THE BEAR

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Why beware of the bear might you ask?


The bear is the devil, full of lies, masquerading as a cute, cozy, cuddly companion, waiting to tear you apart!


I know this doesn’t sound like it is going to be a HEALTH TIP, but “bare” with me for just a moment while I explain.


Several years ago, I attended a prayer retreat and on this retreat we did an exercise to help us understand a few aspects of our current spiritual state.  As we were praying, we were asked to visualize a variety of objects and then be able to describe in as much detail as we could, what it was that we saw.  One of the items we were to describe was a bear.  And the bear that I saw was this cute, cozy, cuddly companion above.


What I discovered later was that the bear was to be a symbol of the devil (for this particular exercise only - I am not hating on teddy bears, nor calling them the devil!)  


But seeing this bear from an enlightened perspective totally unnerved me because I had been so attracted to the bear that I saw.   So attracted that all I wanted to do was cuddle up and play with that bear!


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What I saw was the bear above, but what I should have seen was this bear to the left.


(It is frightening how many scary teddy bears there are on the internet - Zombie bears - who thinks of such!)



For our visual, I just wanted a mildly scary bear (believe me there are worse!), to emphasize that when it comes to our health choices, we are being presented options, yet we might not be seeing the options as clearly as we should.


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The TRUTH is that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).  We have been given these incredible bodies, homes like the Biltmore House on Steroids, to live in.  (see below)


The LIE is that we can do whatever we want with our bodies - eating, drinking, over consuming, avoiding exercise, sleep, stretching, etc. - and it will be o.k..  The LIE that the cute teddy bear whispers is “If it feels good, do it, it doesn’t matter.


But it does, and therein is the lie, whatever your health vice may be.  So my encouragement, one that I need to hear more than anyone, is to see these temptations as they really are, to

BEWARE OF THE BEAR


Rather than being tempted, take a detour, don’t engage.  If you saw a snake in the middle of the road (a common symbol of the devil) you would reroute your path.  Snakes are scary!


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And yet we can be fooled by this other symbol of the devil, the bear because he can be so “cute!"  


“I love you.  We are in this together.  It won’t matter if you don’t keep up your workouts.  It won’t matter if you eat this junk food.  It won’t matter if you don’t get enough sleep."


But I am warning you BEWARE OF THE BEAR, he is not cute!  He is out to destroy you!  Those temptations are deception, and an attempt to destroy your good health, an attempt to ruin the house that God has given you to live in.


Instead of being tempted by what you see or what you feel in regards to harming your good health, reroute your vision and be inspired by the AMAZING body God has given you, so inspired that you want to make it the best house it can be!


CHECK OUT JUST A SMALL PORTION OF THE BILTMORE ESTATE ON STEROIDS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN!


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A SKELETAL SYSTEM -  to keep your body supported and not a puddle of skin and guts on the floor, which also protects your internal organs, that has a skull to protect your brain, ribs to protect your heart and lungs, a spine to protect your spinal cord, bones to allow muscles to move


A MUSCULAR SYSTEM - to allow for movement, up and down, side to side, maintaining balance to keep you from falling over, strength to lift objects like groceries and children, to reach and grab objects like forks and toothbrushes, to push and pull, to walk, run, or just get up from a chair


A CIRCULATORY SYSTEM - to carry nutrients, oxygen,  carbon dioxide, hormones and blood through red blood cells, white blood cells, blood vessels, plasma, platelets and the heart, to all the cells of the body, and then remove all the waste that has been accumulated


A DIGESTIVE SYSTEM - to turn food into energy and again dispose of the waste, by way of the mouth, throat, stomach, intestines (about 5 ft long - how does it all fit in there?), liver, pancreas, gall bladder and colon


A URINARY SYSTEM - to filter waste from the blood, monitoring the perfect fluid balance, controlling red blood cell production, regulating blood pressure, and using the kidneys to again remove excess water, salt and waste


A NERVOUS SYSTEM - responsible for sight, smell, taste, brain messages, the control center of your body consisting of the brain, spinal cord, neurons, sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, all so we can communicate with one another and within our own bodies


AN IMMUNE SYSTEM - to defend the body from millions of bacteria, viruses, toxins, and parasites that try to invade the body every day


AN ENDOCRINE SYSTEM - made up of hormones that regulate mood, body temperature, metabolism, how you sleep, when you start puberty, how you handle stress, and more


A REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM - using the sex organs for reproduction so we can all be alive!


AN INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM -  consisting of the skin, hair, nails, and glands, the most important defense system to keep bacterias outside of our body


Oh my gosh, how are our bodies able to do all this?  We are not connected to any machines.  We do not need batteries.  We do not have a puppet master manipulating our every move.


We really are fearfully and wonderfully made!  Be encouraged to stay away from the bear.  Be encouraged to take God’s great gift of your body and make it the best it can be.


For, if you don’t have your body, 

where else will you live?


And, if you want further encouragement to pray over your health, click here. 


© margaret young