Hey! Emotions by themselves aren’t right or wrong, it’s what we do with them that make them good or bad! 💥BOOM!💥

However, we can work on finding the underlying causes of feelings that effect our life. These issues can be the “red light” on our dashboard telling us to pull over and find the problem.

So! Let’s take a look at several areas where our emotions effect our spiritual life and growth.

✅ Unresolved hurts will most definitely keep us from a truly intimate relationship with God.

🗣 And, before you go into a spiral of self-shaming or “finger-pointing blame” at others, know this.

👉 ALL HUMANS DEAL WITH UNRESOLVED HURTS.👈

Whether they choose to admit that, well…. that is a choice.

Having worked as a Pastoral Counselor and a mentor and also WORKING ON ME in the full light of God’s view for good long while, I have witnessed The LORD heal and bring freedom to very deeply hurting people and He continues moving and walking along with them!

In the process of the healing, they have discovered the deep And AUTHENTIC love of Christ.

Finding this type of emotional healing is incredibly transforming.

💥 This world hurts us and we do harm to ourselves as well.

The sin done to us and the sin we have done comes between us and The LORD, but this doesn’t have to be a permanent separation.

Help is available, His REAL LOVE is available, to remove this emotional barriers that keep us from a transformed honest and peace-driven life rather than pain-driven life with God.

🎯 Truth Over Lies?

What we believe we live out, that is why it is so important to discover the lies that have become part of our belief system and root them out with the truth.

The lies we believe about ourselves, other people in our lives, our world, and more importantly, our God…. effect our emotions and everything we do.

Christ said that the truth would set us free, so that means that lies are a huge form of bondage!

For example, if I believe that God is cold, distant, and uncaring then I will not seek Him when I am hurt, confused, or lonely.

I will not know of His love, tenderness, power, and caring. If I examine this lie about His character, then I can find the origin of when and how I came to believe it.

I can go to Scripture and see what He says about Himself and I can ask Him to speak that truth to the lie I have believed.

Another example might be if I were to believe that I have little worth, little value. Again, The loving words from Jesus will tell me that my value is the life of Christ Himself but deep inside myself I don’t believe it.

I can ask The LORD to take me to the beginnings of this belief about myself and to speak truth to that lie. When “Truth Himself” speaks to lies, they are destroyed.

👉 If you find that you are having a difficult time believing what Scripture says about God, you, and this world, then there are lies that need to be dealt with. 👈

🎯 Forgiveness?

What is forgiveness?

That is a huge question for most people and carries a lot of misconceptions.

Let’s start with what it is not:

• It is not letting the other person get away with hurting you.
• It is not allowing the other person to have access to your life and heart again nor pounding you with a list of shame for not being perfect or not knowing everything about how to love or understand them.
• It is not forgetting.
• It is not injustice ( unfairness ).
• It is not loss of emotions or pain

What Forgiveness IS…

… is a transference or the “handing over” of a debt.

When we owned our first home our mortgage company sold our mortgage. We had no say in the transaction, we were just sent a notification that we no longer owned the debt to our original mortgage holder. We now owed the debt to the new mortgage holder.

That is forgiveness. When we forgive, we take the debt we are owed by another’s actions or inactions against us and we transfer it to Christ.

This means the person now owes us nothing but they do owe Christ. The person who owed us has no say in this transaction, it is fully our choice to transfer the debt.

🎯 Giving the debt to Christ does not let them off the hook for what they did.

They now owe Him. Part of our “giving over the debt” to Christ is that we now have no say in how He will handle the debt.

He very well may take it to the power that took place at the cross and say that they now owe Him nothing. He may allow consequences to help them to grow or He may hold that debt against them for eternity.

💥 Here is a REAL and RAW thought about why we don’t want to give up this debt nor WANT to forgive! 💥

We don’t give over these debts to Christ is that we want them to pay and suffer and hurt as we do.
💥 PAY BACK! 💥

Dear Reader, we don’t get to do that if we are dedicated to obey Christ. HE is the one who measures out judgment.

We must let HIM deal with and decide consequences. And He will give us options about how we obey what He asks of us. Both ways.

We don’t get to demand a pound of flesh from anyone. We get to hand the situation to Him and release control, bitterness, false expectations that we put on others, but give ourselves freedom to ignore when we might totally misunderstand or not see the situation clearly.

Even if we think we do, if we love Him, we let Him call the shots.

💥 And so, our emotions have a way of getting in the way of forgiveness. This is now something we need to honestly and truthfully take to The LORD. 💥

Picture yourself at the foot of the cross and your offender(s) right next to you….

The ground there is level.

You both have sinned and Christ had to take both of your sins to His death.

He is dying for your sins.

If this doesn’t help you give the offender’s debt over to Christ then it is time for you and Christ to talk about your heart.

Maybe there are some lies or misperceptions still there. The LORD will help you with these if you allow Him to.

You might need to seek His forgiveness as well!

Restoring the Broken Places

Just because we are Christian does not mean we have been exempted from addictions and other behaviors that cause problems in our lives!

As a matter of fact, (an unfortunate fact) is that we have the same problems in much the same numbers as those who are not Christ-followers.

We have the capacity for physical, emotional,and mental addictions just like everyone else.

ALL of us are in the process of some type recovery or restoration works! We are recovering from our sin nature and it’s our sin nature that Paul says causes us “to do what we don’t want to do.”

There is no judgment necessary here nor is there room to justify why we did what we did, or do what we do!

We all have our weaknesses and problems!

It’s just that some of ours are more noticeable that others or are by some, considered to be allowed behaviors!

What is needed here is not blaming and blasting!

We need Christ Himself to bright clarity and bright light into the dark things we slog through or have had slung at us!

He says that He came to set the captives free and we all seem to be captive in one way or another!

The good news is that He Is a higher more elevated power that cannot be ruled nor judged by anyone or anything.

He Judges fairly over whatever has taken hold of us. It’s in “finding ourselves” 👉 in Him👈 that we capture the substance to find freedom!

It’s knowing and experiencing His love to the inner depths of our being that begins the change.

His love is not condemning, shaming or discouraging.

He always offers help and healing to those who seek Him — and, He places the desire to help on the hearts of others who follow Him.

There is help out there!

I have seen so many various addictions, hurts, judgements, and hate and have not seen one person not healed who REALLY WANTED Christ to help and restore them.

If you need help, then seek it.

If others want to judge you for your problems or sins, then they can take it up with Christ.

Stay out of word battles, justification and weaponizing of punishing and shaming tactics.

Stop listening to what others report about someone else if it’s damning, twisted in hate or used to sway you into a pool of confusion or to make you a party to their desire to wound someone by convincing you that the other person is the problem.

Search out your own heart before God, ask Him to test your motives and see if you hide any wickedness in there. He is a fair and merciful “judge” of the intentions of all hearts. He sees it all. A L L !

Don’t let anyone else stop you from finding true and authentic freedom in walking peacefully in your heart.

You are a person, in progress, daily being re-formed, until the day you die or until The LORD returns.

Let’s go for it!!

The complete joy of knowing who is for us! GOD!

With that in mind, Run the race, (walk if you need to), but keep moving!

Every step is a great victory over the “Feels, Fear, Fate, Rage and Hateful oppressions” that try to get us to freeze God out of the equation and get us stuck in doubting His wisdom !

Let’s Pray this BOLD and Brave Prayer Together Right now!

Heavenly Father,

I praise you for free and full access you’ve given us to come boldly to your throne of grace, any time at all.

There we will always find your joyful welcome, and the mercy and grace we need for any given situation.

Today, I come asking for wisdom; in particular, wisdom about who I am as a relational and emotional person.

Relationships have never been the easiest thing for me to navigate, especially being an introvert with extroverted gifts, with a very peopled and public calling; and emotions… well, I’ve been pretty clumsy with those as well.

Father, continue to show me the difference between a healthy investment in people’s lives, versus an unhealthy entanglement and enmeshment.

The calling to love others, as Jesus loves us, will always be costly, and will require more of me than I’ll readily give, but please show me what good relational boundaries look like.

Grant me grace to offer people a non-anxious presence, and a genuine taste of your compassionate and tender heart.

Help me know the difference between validating the emotions of others, versus taking responsibility for their emotions.

Unfortunately, my default mode is to try “fix” people who are emotionally “on edge”; but I acknowledge, yet again, that you’re not calling me to fix anybody, but to love everybody.

Help me to listen from my heart, and to discern what’s really going on in the struggles and stories of others.

I also need wisdom, Father, about my own emotional world. The emotion of anger has always confused and threatened me, and I can still be sucker-punched by the emotions of fear and shame.

Help me know what my emotions are telling me — what idols they reveal; what growth in grace they require; what healing in my story remains in front of me.

Show me what taking care of myself looks like; versus, withdrawing into self-protection and unbelief.

Father, just praying this prayer stirs up so many other thoughts and feelings inside my heart.

My joy is in knowing that we can keep this conversation going throughout the day, and well beyond.

My great joy is in knowing that you will give me, as this passage declares, the wisdom I need, and you will do so generously.

Because the gospel is true, I’m certain I live in the state of your permanent favor and delight.

That’s my peace and the immovable anchor for my soul. I so look forward to the Day of a glorified me, and a glorified everything!

Amen! I pray, this in Jesus’ bold and beautiful name.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him,” James 1:5.

 

With Much Hope for Wholeness and Healing,
In His Shadow,
~ Mary Lindow ^©

Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed as long as complete message and website information for Mary Lindow is included. Thank You!

” THE MESSENGER ” ~ Mary Lindow
www.marylindow.com
Global Prayer Rooms

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Mary Lindow has a passion for encouraging others – all generations, careers or vocations to live expressing excellence through personal integrity, healthy accountability, and wise management of talents and skills. She’s a sought after keynote, inspirational, humorous speaker and teacher across the USA and internationally in Ministers & Spiritual leaders Conferences, and training seminars for various organizations.

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