The Thing Settled

The battle is lost or won in the secret places of the will before God, never first in the external world...If I say, "I will wait till I get into the circumstances then put God to the test," I shall find I cannot. I must get the thing settled between myself and God...and then I can go forth with the certainty the battle is won. ~ Oswald Chambers

The above passage was quoted in The Dieter's Prayer Book. I have found that having "the thing" settled is very important for my food plan. If I leave certain foods optional I am likely to indulge in trigger foods and start gaining weight. Several months ago I stopped drinking soda (I had switched to diet a long time ago...so this was giving up the diet soda also). It has been 4 months since I had one. Sunday I did. I was tired from the weekend and we had a long drive ahead of us and I wanted some caffeine. Had I been thinking clearly I would have gotten a tea instead (I seem to forget you can now buy bottles of tea). I don't feel horrible about it, but it was something I thought "was settled" and apparently I was still leaving my options open. Yes, I know, drinking a soda isn't a sin and drinking a diet soda isn't going to make me throw in the towel and start gaining weight, but I had decided to not drink them (they make me all bloated and don't quench my thirst). I thought that the thing was settled, but apparently it was not. I want the thing to be settled. How nice to look back year's from now and say, "I don't drink soda. I haven't had one since February 18th, 2007."