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.

The Secret of Living in Contentment

 

Jesus encouraged us to have joy in tribulation, because He already experienced every issue we will ever face. He lives within us, so He inspires us to change our focus about life (John 16:33; Hebrews 2:18, 4:15).

Paul and James experienced more trials in their lifetime than we ever will, and they gave us the same advice to rejoice in our tribulation (Romans 5:3, 12:12; James 1:2). In fact, Paul also told us to rejoice always (Philippians 4:4).

The secret of learning to be content is to realize that this earth is not our home (Philippians 4:12). With an eternal perspective, we realize who we are in Christ and we stop worrying about earthly pursuits and dreams.

An eternal perspective allows us to have joy in adverse circumstances (2 Corinthians 4:16-17), because issues on this earth have less significance to us than those pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

We trust in the Lord with our whole heart, holding nothing back, not trusting in our self or any fleshly advantage, submitting everything to God and embracing His will as our own (Proverbs 3:5-6).

If we wait patiently for the Lord, we shall not be moved, even in times of great stress or persecution. Christ is our solid rock on which we stand, our strong tower from the enemies, which come against us (Psalm 40:1-2, 61:3).

When someone offends or harasses one of God's children, He takes it personally just as if the person was afflicting Him with our pain (Acts 9:5-6). He is our refuge and strength in any sign of trouble (Psalm 46:1).

We quietly rest in His care, knowing that He always delivers us through all of our afflictions (Psalm 23:4, 34:19). Even when He disciplines us for our sinful behavior, we can rejoice that He loves us as His children (Hebrews 12:3-6).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for teaching us to have an eternal perspective on life. We want to learn to be content as Paul did and to walk in Your nurture and admonition (Ephesians 6:4). Keep us ever faithful to Your Kingdom's work and remind us that if we fail to witness to the ones You put in our path, their blood is on our hands (Ezekiel 3:19-20).

Help us to see that all we actually need to be content is food and shelter (1 Timothy 6:8). Teach us that the pursuit of this world's goods never satisfies; yet, when Godliness is accompanied by contentment, we reap many rewards (Ecclesiastes 5:10; 1 Timothy 6:6).

Thought for the Day:

When we are joyful and content, our attitude shows on our face; but when we focus on our tribulation, the weight of it will break our spirit. - Proverbs 15:13

Eternal Outlook

Well-meaning friends and relatives often attempt to talk us out of our negative emotions in an effort to help us to feel better. However, this only causes us to suffer more acutely.

We feel misunderstood, unaccepted and invalidated. They want to help; but they complicate our issues, and we feel more alone than we did before they tried to support us.

Their perception of our issue is different than ours. They were not in the circumstance, so they cannot fully comprehend our viewpoint.

We can help one another more fully by listening and affirming each other's feelings, rather than trying to help someone change their feelings.

We can also share a similar experience and how God taught us to deal with it, which may give them an idea on how to resolve their own issue.

Sometimes, Satan will tempt us to believe his lies, or to trust the feelings in our heart. This may cause us to reject God's truth, which compounds our problems.

The Bible is clear in its assessment of such behavior. The heart is deceptive and often wicked. It will rarely steer us in the right direction (Jeremiah 17:9).

Our thoughts influence our feelings, and our feelings will direct our behavior. Therefore, it is imperative for us to think about the positive and find the root of our negative emotions (Philippians 4:8).

This is particularly difficult for people with a melancholy personality. We always see the glass half-empty. Yet, God's Holy Spirit will replace our destructive tendencies with His fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Negative thoughts signal a need in our soul: a slight to mourn, forgiveness to grant, a need to meet, an idol to cast down, faulty thinking to correct, etc.

As we focus on the eternal, put temporal issues in Godly perspective, and take an inventory of our soul in order to meet our own needs, we find more peace and joy in life. 

Prayer:

Father God, we often feel life's issues with a depth of emotion, which is difficult to explain in words. People want to encourage us and help us to restore our joy, but they often come across as indifferent and uncompassionate.

Help us to comfort one another with Your love within us and to show patience and genuine concern. Remind us to view the issues of life from Your eternal perspective, rather than our limited earthly standpoint. Enable us to learn to laugh more and not to take our self or life so seriously.

Thought for the Day:

As we fully grieve our losses, we can change our focus and find the joy of the Lord regardless of our circumstances.