As you’ve discovered, you were wrong to ignore those who said you were ruining your health—but you’d be even more wrong if you thought that God doesn’t like you! In fact, God doesn’t only like you—He loves you!

This doesn’t mean God loves the way you’ve been living, because He doesn’t. In fact, God honestly hates what you’ve been doing. But the reason is because He knows the damage it’s been causing to your body—and also to your soul. God knows what is best for us, and when we ignore Him and go our own way, we end up paying a terrible price—not only in this life, but in the life to come. The Bible warns that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

But God loves you in spite of the way you’ve been living—and the proof is that He sent Jesus Christ into the world to save you. If you were worthless, would He have died for you? No, of course not. But you aren’t worthless, and God yearns for you to come to Christ and by faith receive Him into your life. Jesus said, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37).

As you face an uncertain future, you need God more than ever. Don’t let doubt, or pride, or anything else keep you from opening your heart and life to Jesus. The Bible says, “The eyes of the Lord are on those … whose hope is in His unfailing love” (Psalm 33:18).