Staying Safe

Jesus knew the importance of getting alone with God. If He felt this habit is important, although He had a divine nature, how much more should we value this activity too?

Jesus set boundaries and escaped from the crowd or declined an offer or refused to comply to every request made of Him. He followed the leading of the Holy Spirit and was not a workaholic, an enabler or an over-achiever. He simply rested in God's love and enjoyed His company.

He went about doing good (Acts 10:38), healing the sick, feeding the hungry multitudes, casting out demons and working miracles. He did this by the Spirit's direction, not of His own volition. Jesus walked in the will of the Father who sent Him, energized Him and anointed Him (John 5:18-20).

Jesus filled Himself with the presence of God and was ready to handle the divine appointments He encountered each day (Luke 5:15-16). He cared for his own needs as well, without feeling guilty, even if He missed the opportunity to help someone else (Matthew 4:6-7, 26:18-20; John 12:2).

Interruptions in His schedule, crisis situations and dire needs in others did not tax His faith or cause Him irritation. He took them all in stride. His compassion and grace enabled Him to look at the situation and meet the real need, not just the surface issues.

Jesus enjoyed the fellowship of His disciples. He spent time mentoring, instructing and encouraging them. He answered their questions and lived a spirit-filled life as an example to others.

In the Garden, Jesus sweat blood at the thought of the anguish God called Him to suffer on the cross; but He did the will of the Father regardless of His preferences and concerns (Mark 14:32-42).

God calls us to walk in the Spirit as well; to meet His expectations for us rather than those from other people; and not to enable people but to point them to Christ and to lead them to the resources they need to help themselves.

Prayer:

Father God, only a fool despises the instruction, advice and correction of Godly parents; but those who listen and heed their words are wise. When our parent's counsel comes from Your Word, give us the wisdom to obey and to follow their advice. Our parents have been around the block a few times and can help us to navigate our way (Proverbs 15:5).

With age comes wisdom from the school of life. The same is true of the wisdom from above, which is holy, amiable, sympathetic, submissive to the Father, full of mercy and the fruit of the Spirit, unbiased and genuine (James 3:17). Help us to hear Your voice, to heed Your wisdom and to realize that the only safe place in this world is in Your presence.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus spent time in the Father's presence and filled His Spirit with God's Words; He did or said nothing that He did not first see God say or do. - John 5:44

Emotional and Mental Health-Freedom from Negative Emotions

Journaling is a lost art form and mental health tool. It takes many avenues of expression and can be a variety of sizes and styles. Whatever fits the personality and needs of the journalist.

This is a method of documenting the events in our life and dealing with pent up thoughts and emotions. When we do not express our thoughts in words to a mentor or on paper in a journal, they will erupt from our soul at inopportune times.

                             

Sit in a quiet place and journal all of your thoughts and feelings. In doing this, you are emptying yourself of yourself.

Do not talk, sing, pray, watch TV, listen to music or answer your phone...just listen to your soul - your thoughts and feelings - and wait on the Lord to come and fill you with His comforting Holy Spirit.

It may take hours...it may take days...it may take weeks or months as it took me to get to the root of the issues which plague our soul. This all depends on how much inner and outer clutter is in our life.

We cannot be discouraged if we are not successful when we start journaling. It takes time to develop a new habit. Just remember that tomorrow is the first day of the rest of our life and our God is the God of second chances.

As we continue to journal each and every day, it will not take long to get to the root of the issues causing us unrest. Then we can follow the Serenity Principle and either deal with the issue(s) or place it in God's capable hands to resolve in His timing and way.

Once we finish with our journal and go about our day, we can stop what we are doing at the first sign of unrest in our soul or spirit- even if we just duck into the bathroom for a few minutes.

Taking time to pray allows God to reveal the source of these negative thoughts and emotions. Then, once God shows us the origin of our anxiety, anger or other negative emotion, we can repent or ask for God's help.

He may lead us to forgive, to change our focus about the situation or to serve the person, which is hurting us. It also helps to switch our focus to an eternal perspective and set boundaries around anything from this temporal world, which is causing us trouble.

Does our issue really matter in the overall scheme of eternity? If not, we can let it go and let God teach us to think like He does about the issue.

Prayer:

Father God, we ask You to give us Your wisdom to know what situations we can change, and which to leave in Your skillful hands. Give us the strength to deal with the issues that You reveal are our responsibility. Then help us to turn the rest over to You.

Help us to develop an attitude of acceptance about them. If we cannot change them, then we can praise You for them, in them, and through them, even for the negative things. By doing this, we end up walking in complete serenity and in the dynamic power of Your Holy Spirit.

Thought for the Day:

What is it in your life that is causing you a problem right now?  Can you do something about it? Then, do it! If not, then change your focus and give the problem to God.

Surviving Our Past

During the formative years of our life, many of us experience physical and emotional wounds perpetrated by family, neighbors and friends of our family.

These events caused parts of our soul to splinter off and embed in our subconscious mind. We are disjointed and incomplete, because our basic human needs in these areas were never met.

Some of us barely survive our past experiences, and we drag the wounds with us into adulthood. Victimization took away our choices and we feel trapped.

We even mistreat our self by either putting our needs last and allowing other people to take advantage of us, or punishing our self with further pain and neglect, or becoming obsessed with our own needs and walling our heart from further hurt by shutting down our emotions and becoming self-sufficient.

We may allow the demon of perfectionism to control our life, because we fear further rejection or feel the need to earn love and acceptance; or we may adopt a lackadaisical and carefree attitude, unthinking and callous to the needs of others.

God leads us on the path of healing through sanctification. As we embrace the parts of our soul we left behind, we experience a wholeness and completion, which we never thought was possible (Colossians 2:10-15).

We integrate the pieces of our self, which we rejected in our past, and learn to relate to people and the will of God for our life as healthy individuals who are growing in the grace of God. ( www.theophostic.com )

God teaches us to set boundaries in our life to prevent future abuse and gives us a new heart in order to love others as He loves us.

God's healing in our life sets us free to shed the shackles of negative emotions and to be more aware of living fully in each present moment with unceasing prayer and by walking in the Spirit.

Prayer:

Father God, You were right there with us during those times of abuse and neglect in our past. You understand our thought processes now and the negative emotions, which plague our life. You became a man and died for us. This act of selfless love now gives us the sense of being valued and unconditionally loved.

As we align our self and our beliefs with Your Word, we find fulfillment in this life, which we never thought possible on this side of heaven. You supply all of our needs according to Your glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). You restore our soul, anoint our head with oil, set a table for us in the presence of our enemies and our cup overflows with Your blessings (Psalm 23).

Thought for the Day:

We can relinquish the need to control life and other people in a misguided attempt to keep our self safe from further abuse and neglect, when we insist on taking part in decisions which affect our life, and trust God to work out even the worst circumstances for our good - Romans 8:28