This is Oatmeal Muffin Day.

Yesterday was cookies, and today it’s muffins. What is this, baking week?

Most kids probably would say that oatmeal muffins don’t sound too appetizing. They think of oatmeal as a bland and mushy breakfast cereal. Besides, oatmeal muffins are probably good for you, right? That means they must taste bad.

You’ve been down this road before—being told about something you should eat, even if it doesn’t sound very tasty. Certain vegetables, liver, and bran all fit in this category. For some kids, eating those foods is like taking medicine. But at least with medicine you see results. The benefits of eating the right foods may not be seen for many years.

That’s why you eat in faith. You pop those brussels sprouts in your mouth, trusting that what your mother, father, or grandparents says is true. You know they love you and want the best for you (and they have more experience and knowledge), so you grimace and eat.

We can face a similar situation in relation to God. The Bible explains that certain experiences and actions are important for our spiritual health—like telling the truth even if it hurts, admitting when we’re wrong, spending time every day reading the Bible, befriending the unpopular kid, praying for our enemies, and so forth. They may be hard to swallow, like an oatmeal muffin, but we do them anyway, in faith. God loves us, so we can trust him to give us only what’s best for us, even if it seems distasteful at the time.

That is why we live by believing and not by seeing (2 Corinthians 5:7).

To Do

The next time your mom or dad tells you to eat something because “it’s good for you,” say “thank you,” and eat it without complaining. When they get over the shock and ask why you had such a good attitude for a change, explain that you are “eating by faith.”

Also on this day

1777—General George Washington led his army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, to camp for the winter.

1887—Jake Kilrain and Jim Smith fought in a bare knuckles fight that lasted 106 rounds and 2 hours and 30 minutes. The fight was ruled a draw and was halted due to darkness.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.