Emotional and Mental Health - Emotional Climate

There are varying degrees of emotion in the human realm. We are not simply angry, sad, happy or fearful. We could be furious or irritated, overwhelmed with grief or unhappy, overjoyed or tickled, horrified or wary or any degree in between.

The fact is that positive emotions give birth to other positive emotions and negative emotions promote more negative feelings. Our thoughts feed off one another, and our thoughts and emotions influence our behavior.

Our negative emotions can affect our body's health as well, with psychosomatic illnesses. These are very real issues with no physical cause and can influence the longevity of our life.

Yet, when our attitude swings toward the positive, these same diseases disappear and our health actually improves dramatically. God gives us negative emotions to warn us of an unresolved conflict in our soul. It pays to pay attention to and to resolve these issues quickly.

Emotion is not influenced much by economic standing, relational status or our collection of material possessions. We can be happier as a poor person than a rich one, single rather than married, or in a one bedroom cottage instead of a mansion.

One person with horrendous life circumstances can be happier than someone who enjoys perfect health and material prosperity. Genetics even play a part in our overall satisfaction with life.

Melancholy personalities have a hard time seeing anything except through the filter of their negative persona; yet phlegmatic people will often view even the worse of circumstances with a positive outlook.

We tend to avoid people who are determined to see life negatively. Their favorite topics of conversation are their poor health and how unfair life is to them. They shoot holes in our hopes and dreams and bring us down to their level.

The presence of God's Spirit in our spirit is the biggest controller of our emotions; however, we also have the power to choose what our mind dwells on and what we allow to influence our life.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that negative attitudes and feelings will prevent us from walking in Your Spirit (Galatians 5:15-25). They often deny us the opportunity to achieve Your preordained will for our life (Ephesians 2:10). We want to walk in Your ways and avoid the pitfalls caused by prolonged negative emotions

Help us to develop positive habits that will breed contentment and serenity. Cause us to take frequent moral, emotional and physical inventories in order to have the opportunity to bring any issues to You for resolution. Thank You for abiding in us and with us and for not forsaking us on this earth.

Thought for the Day:

As we face the sun (and the Son), we see a bright future and the only shadows in our life end up being behind us; people will remember us more for our attitude about life than for what we actually say and do.

Darkness Hates the Light

 

Today's news reported that a professor flunked a student for their Christian stance in a school project. The world hates the Light more and more violently nowadays, because it reveals the density of their darkness.

Since Christ lives in His Saints, the world hates us too (John 15:18). They say that we disturb their peace. In other words, just seeing our name or hearing our voice convicts them of their sin; so they despise us.

We do not even need to say a word, just our presence sets their teeth on edge and boils the acid in their stomach. They want to remove us from their presence in hopes of ignoring their own conscience.

They surround themselves with like-minded people; so they do not experience the intensity of conviction, which they feel when they are around us. They will even put space and distance between them and a family member who is filled with God's Spirit.

God's Light offends them because its brightness infringes on their comfort in their darkness. Their thoughts, opinions, values, goals and behavior deny Christ with every fiber of their being.

However, this does not negate the fact that He still exists. The unbeliever can kill every last Christian on the face of the earth, but creation will still scream His name and proclaim His glory (Romans 1:20).

In the end, their knee will bow along with everyone else on the earth, and in heaven and in hell (Philippians 2:10). Christ will prevail regardless of how much will power they exude in their attempt to stop Him.

Prayer:

Father God, those who love darkness want to hide their shameful thoughts and deeds from the Light (Job 24:16). Some of them left conservative paths to walk in their shady conduct (Proverbs 2:13). They live in deception and refuse to seek You in any way (Jeremiah 9:6).

Thank You for bringing us into the light of Your glory and teaching us to walk in Your Truth (John 3:21). We want nothing to do with the fruit of darkness (Ephesians 5:11-13). Help us to reach those in darkness who have a sincere desire for Your truth. For those hardened in their sin, strengthen their inner being to accept Christ through Your Spirit (Ephesians 3:16).

Thought for the Day:

Jesus is and always will be the King of all kings and Lord of all lords; the only way, truth and life; and the Light of the world. - 1 Timothy 6:15; John 8:12, 14:6

A Brand New Life

 

God fashions the hearts of everyone on the planet and He understands all of our desperate attempts to extract meaning out of our daily struggles (Psalm 33:15). God does not judge us like people do. Human beings look at the outward appearance and we form our opinion of people, but the Lord looks at our heart (1 Samuel 16:7). He knows our thoughts and He knew all of our choices before time ever began (2 Timothy 1:9). He also knew whether or not we would strive for holiness and perfection in His sight (Ephesians 1:4).

God knew before the creation of the world if we would accept or reject Christ. He predestined those who accept His Son as their Savior to be conformed to His image (Romans 8:29). Our salvation does not depend upon our personal works, but on us accepting Christ’s righteousness in place of our sin (Ephesians 2:9-10; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Titus 3:5). He saves us, not because of our goodness or self-effort, but because of His mercy (Ephesians 2:8-10). He saves us by the cleansing of His rebirth and He renews us by His Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).

We are buried with Christ through baptism into His death, so that we can rise from the death caused by our sinful life to a new life in Him (Romans 6:4). We receive the Holy Spirit as the down payment of our inheritance with Christ (Romans 8:17). The Spirit leads us throughout our day in the will of God for our individual life (John 6:63). Now we can draw near to God with a clean heart, full of the assurance, which is given to us by faith. Our conscience is clean and our hearts are renewed (Hebrews 10:22). We are born of God and we overcome the world by our faith in His faithfulness (1 John 5:4).

God’s unfailing love and abundant redemption belong to anyone willing to trust only in Him. Therefore, our whole being waits for the Lord. Our soul – our mind, will and emotions - waits and hopes in His Word. We put our expectation only in Him and not on any person, job, goal or ambition (Psalm 130:5, 7). In the morning we lay our requests before Him and wait expectantly for Him to respond, because we know that He hears our prayers (Psalm 5:3). No matter how long it takes for Him to answer us, we strongly and courageously wait on Him (Psalm 27:14).

Even when He hides His face from us, we wait expectantly for Him to answer us (Isaiah 8:17). He is our only source of salvation. He is our fortress and we cannot be shaken (Psalm 62:2). He strengthens us and our joy is in His great victories on our behalf (Psalm 21:1). Our heart leaps for joy and bursts forth in songs of praise for Him, because we rely only on Him (Psalm 28:7, 59:17). We rest in Him all day long (Psalm 62:5).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, the Israelites drank water from the rock. You are our Rock and You give us living water (1 Corinthians 10:4; John 4:10). Remind us not to forsake Your precepts, because You are our spring of living water. Our broken cisterns cannot hold water, but if we believe in You, then rivers of Your living water will flow from within us (Jeremiah 2:13; John 7:38). As we rest in You and follow the leading of Your Spirit, Whom You gave to us (John 7:39), then we will accomplish all of Your works in the earth (Philippians 2:12-13).

Thought for the Day:

“We will shine like stars in the sky as we hold firmly to the word of life.”
- Philippians 2:12-13

In Honor of Lilly and Everyone Who Cared For Her

Why God Doesn’t Answer Our Prayers

To Heal Our Loved Ones

I can understand your distress over Lily's death and the fact that you wanted to see Lily healed. I hope these words will comfort you as they console me. God sees every tear we ever shed, both for our loved ones and for our self to have healing on this earth. Psalm 56:8 tells us of God, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”

Sometimes, we take medicine that prolongs our life here on this earth in hopes that we will be healed on this earth. We never have to fear death or dying, however. As soon as we take our last breath on this earth, we are in the presence of God, as 2 Corinthians 5:8 tells us, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” 

God thinks so differently from our human thinking. For instance, we think it is best for other humans to stay here on earth with us, because we treasure them. In Psalm116:15 David says, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." This is also shown in, Ecclesiastes 7:1 "A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth."

The lovely aspect of death is that once we take our last breath on the earth, the very next breath is in heaven. Angels actually escort us up to heaven, Luke 16:22 “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom.”

God never leaves us through our sickness and He is even our guide in death, Psalm 48:14 “For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death.” Also in Psalm 16:9-11 God tells us, “Heart, body, and soul are filled with joy. For you will not leave me among the dead; you will not allow your beloved one to rot in the grave. You will let me experience the joys of life and the exquisite pleasures of your own eternal presence.” 

We have a refuge in God all through life and even in death. Proverbs 14:32 tells us, “Even in death the righteous have a refuge.” Also, Luke 20:36 tells us, “’And they never die again; in these respects they are like angels, and are sons of God, for they are raised up in new life from the dead.’”

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank You for taking Lily to live with You. Help us to be patient until we see her again. Let us make sure that we know You as our Savior in order for this to happen. We know that Lily is the apple of Your eye and we know that You love and care for us as well. Help us to face death as bravely as Lily did and help us to serve You well on this earth for as long as You choose for us to remain.

Thought for the Day:

"Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning." - Psalm 30:5

Singleness of Purpose!

Read: I Corinthians 7:8-34

“But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord -- how he may please the Lord. 33 But he who is married cares about the things of the world -- how he may please his wife.” 1 Corinthians 7:32-33

After 22 years of marriage, I suddenly found myself single again. I enjoyed married life and made it my daily goal to serve my husband and family to the best of my ability. Therefore, when I re-entered the single life, I had a hard time adjusting and accepting this turn of events. Then I read this verse found in 1 Corinthians 7:32-33. I realized that God had a whole new ministry for me.

What Paul is saying here is that the state of Singleness is a blessing. Single people do not have to consider the needs of anyone else in praying for the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Singles go anywhere and do anything God directs them to do without a care for anyone else. They do not have to be home at a certain time or ask permission of anyone to attend an activity. If you are single, use this gift as your contribution to serve God with all your might.

All humanity, regardless of age or marital status, often suffers from disillusioned expectations. For instance a young woman desires a husband, children, and a home full of modern conveniences. She experiences constant disappointment when one date after another fails to produce the partner of her dreams. If she focuses instead on God’s will for her life, realizing that singleness is a gift God gives us to fulfill His desires on the earth, she will find contentment until God chooses to send her a mate and family.

Although we possess unfulfilled desires, we can still live a fulfilling life. As we focus on God’s will as our goal, this eliminates unrealistic hopes and expectations. Sometimes, we fail to receive our anticipated, idyllic objective. We discover the truth about our situation and realize our dreams are unrealistic and will never be fulfilled. Then disappointment settles in and we often get jaded about life. We develop a cynical attitude and we shut off our feelings and refuse to be used by God in any way.

Unrealized expectations also ruin relationships, especially if we presume some ideal will materialize without communicating our needs to anyone else. We expect our parents, mate, children, coworkers, employers, pastor, etc to read our mind and to move heaven and earth to meet our needs, even if we never verbalize them. We can accomplish much more if we are willing to request that our needs be met. Even if we do, the other person may not be willing to meet them, but as least we tried. Then we can leave the rest up to God.

Ultimately, no matter what marital state we are in, God’s will and not our expectations must motivate our actions and our emotions. As we find contentment in His will, He will provide everything we need for our eventual fulfillment (Matthew 6:33).

Prayer:

Lord, help me to learn to be content in whatever state You chose for my life. Help me to use my resources for Your glory. If I am single, guide me in how to use my freedom. If I am married, teach me to communicate clearly and to depend upon You to meet my needs.  

Thought for the Day:

Singleness is a blessing to be used for God’s purpose.