you ever felt jealous, resentful, or judgmental toward someone? Did you know
that none of these negative emotions are your Heavenly Father's will or plan for your heart? He sent Jesus to heal your heart with the Good News of His love so that you would experience His perfect peace and joy in this world.
In II Corinthians 11:2 & 3 the Apostle Paul said that we have been presented
to Jesus as His pure and righteous bride, but he feared that just as the devil deceived Eve with his lies, our minds would also be corrupted from our pure devotion to Jesus. Every day the devil prowls around looking for one of God's beloved children to devour (I Peter 5:5,9). He throws his lies at our minds in an attempt to fill our hearts with insecurity and fear. He wants us to question God's love and faithfulness and our true identity in Jesus.
My heart experiences both positive and negative emotions. Just as pain in my body is an indicator that sickness is trying to attack my body, pain in my heart is an indicator that the devil's lies are attacking my mind. And just as Jesus is the Healer of our bodies, He is also the Healer of our hearts. He loves us so much that He came for us to experience wholeness in our spirit, soul, and body! When we become aware that negative emotions are symptoms of the devil's lies we can break free from their affect on our hearts by turning to the One Who loves us.
Every day I am very much aware of how my heart feels, I want more than anything to live in my Heavenly Father's perfect will and experience His promises in every area of my life. My heart is an indicator of whose voice I am listening to and whose plan I am experiencing in my life. So whenever my heart feels negative emotions, I turn to Jesus and say, "Lord, what lie is the devil tempting me to believe? Show me the truth that will set me free." With the lie exposed to the light of Jesus, it dissipates in the truth of His love. I find myself once again experiencing positive emotions, my heart filled with the fullness of God- living loved and living free!
Negative emotions are symptoms of believing the devil's lies. What an easy way to know who I'm truly believing. Help me, Jesus, to believe the truth of your love for me
ReplyDeleteThe realization of this a few years ago has been a HUGE key to my daily peace and relationship with God!
ReplyDeleteThe pain of a pebble in my shoe is a God-given alarm system to give me an opportunity to take corrective action in order to keep me from further injury.
Emotional pain is a similar signal that there is some lie that needs to be extracted and covered with the sweet salve of my Father's love.
It is not a time to dwell in victim mode and say, "Why me?"
Pain, whether physical or emotional reveals a new opportunity to say, "Show me the Truth that sets me free" and experience the love and health and freedom that Jesus purchased.
God is not the source of pain, He is the Healer of every hurt. If we regard pain as a punishment from God that we deserve, we will feel unworthy to enter in to the wholeness that He desires for us, and stay ensnared in the trap of perpetual pain.
Thanks for the reminder, Connie!
What a revelation when I first heard you teach that when I experience negative emotions I am believing some kind of lie the enemy is bringing to me. It had never occurred to me that the two were related, I just went along with my emotions like I had no choice in the matter. Now I know when I "feel" bad there is some lie the enemy is tempting me to believe. Now I know I can turn to Jesus and ask Him to show me the truth that will set me free and He works in my heart and brings healing and peace! What a simple and profound truth! I don't have to live in my negative emotions, Jesus has purchased, by His finished work at the cross, my freedom from the lies that attack my heart. I can be live at peace in my heart and in my life. Thank you Jesus!
ReplyDeleteShannan and Marsha,
ReplyDeleteWow! Thank you for posting your thoughts! I love to read what the Lord is showing others. It encourages me in my walk with Jesus. No wonder the Bible teaches us to encourage one another in the Lord. It is so exciting to know that we are Living Loved and Living free together in this journey with Jesus. We don't have to listen to the devil's lies anymore! WOOHOO!
I love what Shannan said, "God is not the source of pain, He is the Healer of every hurt. If we regard pain as a punishment from God that we deserve, we will feel unworthy to enter in to the wholeness that He desires for us, and stay ensnared in the trap of perpetual pain."
ReplyDeleteOften Christians believe the lie that somehow our Father wants us to suffer with sickness or despondency, that its our 'cross to bear'. Everything Jesus accomplished on the cross indicates otherwise. He bore our sicknesses, carried away all of our diseases, the chastening of our peace was put on Him... He IS Healer, Deliverer, and the Lover of our souls.
I understand the importance the resurrection story holds in your particular religion. If I too knew some guy that had been killed and placed inside a cave with a rock in front of it and I visited the cave to find the rock moved and his body gone, the only logical assumption would be that he had risen from the dead and is the son of God. Once, my friend Simon was rushed to hospital to have his appendix removed and I visited him the next day to find his bed empty. I immediately sacrificed a goat and burnt a witch in his name but it turned out that he had not had appendicitis, just needed a good poo, and was at home playing Playstation.
ReplyDeleteSomeone probably should have asked "So the rock has been moved and he's gone... has anyone checked his house?" I realise Playstation was not around in those days but they probably had the equivalent. A muddy stick or something. I would have said "Can someone please check if Jesus is at home playing with his muddy stick, if not, then and only then should we all assume, logically, that he has risen from the dead and is the son of God."
If we accept though, that Jesus was the son of an Infinite Being capable of anything, he probably did have a Playstation. Probably a Playstation 7. I know I have to get my offspring all the latest gadgets. God would probably have said to him, "I was going to wait another two thousand years to give you this but seeing as you have been good... just don't tell your mother about Grand Theft Auto."
Also, is it true that Jesus can be stabbed during a sword fight and be ok due to the fact that he can only die if he gets his head chopped off?