We all know what a birthday is. It is the celebration of the day you were born. This year, if I happened to eat cake which I gave up about 15 years ago, there would be 72 candles on my cake poised to burn the house down!
However, I don’t eat cake any more. There was a time when I thought I’d die if I could never eat cake, sweet breads, cookies, or candy any more. But guess what? It’s not the end of the world if you come to the conclusion you should give up sugar and gluten. Actually, it’s the start of an all-new day.
For several years after giving up birthday cake, it wasn’t the taste I missed but the celebration around the cake. We always put candles on the cake referring to how many years we had survived, sing the Happy Birthday song, eat cake, and open presents. But when I so rudely took cake out of my special day, it didn’t feel special anymore.
This reminds me of one guy in the Bible who was told he wasn’t going to have any more birthdays. Well, that’s not what God said exactly. His name was Hezekiah, and here’s what God told to him in Isaiah 38:1-3 TPT. “Set your affairs in order, for you will not recover from this illness. You are going to die.”
“Hezekiah broke down and wept.” (My guess is it was because he wanted more birthday cake. That’s not in the Bible, by the way.) He prayed, “O please, Yahweh, please I beg you, let me live. Remember how I have walked faithfully before Your face. With all my heart, I have sought to do only what is good in your eyes.”
In verse 5, God tells him, “I have heard your heartfelt prayer, and I have seen you cry tear after bitter tear. I will give you another 15 years.” In Isaiah 38:16 TPT, Hezekiah says, “Lord, it is because of your kindness that life is given. It is in You that my spirit lives.”
God healed Hezekiah of his illness, and he got to live to celebrate 15 more birthdays. This chapter may be the only place in the Bible where birthdays are at least insinuated. However, there are many verses in scripture that tell us how to live, and it is not to eat all the cake we want. It is not for self-aggrandizement.
In Isaiah 58:3-4, scripture tells us to not fast to get what we want. Then in verse 6-7 it says that God wants us to fast and pray to undo the bonds of wickedness, help the poor, and put our desires on the back burner.
When we do that, God says, “Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your healing, restoration, and new life will quickly spring forth; Your righteousness will go before you, leading you to peace and prosperity. The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard” (Isaiah 58:8 AMP).
Now that would be a Happy Birthday, especially if the words were delivered by a few butterflies!
Teresa Shields Parker is a Christian weight loss author, coach, podcaster, and speaker, who has lost 250 pounds and kept it off since 2013. Her books include: “Reconnecting Jayne: Her Sister’s Support,” “Rebuilding Jayne: Her Father’s Protection,” “Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds and Stopped Trying to Earn God’s Favor,” “Sweet Grace Study Guide,” “Sweet Victory: Winning the Battle,” “Sweet Surrender: Breaking Strongholds,” “Sweet Journey to Transformation: Practical Steps to Lose Weight and Live Healthy”, “Sweet Freedom: Losing Weight and Keeping It Off With God’s Help,” “Sweet Freedom Study Guide,” “Sweet Change: True Stories of Transformation,” “Sweet Hunger: Developing an Appetite for God,” and “Sweet Excuses: Stop Lying to Yourself & Start Losing Weight.” She also offers Overcomers Christian Weight Loss Academy and VIP intensive coaching. Don’t miss her weekly podcast, Sweet Grace for Your Journey, where she shares tips from her personal journey of losing weight and discovering healthy living. Contact her at [email protected].