Part 16 (1/2)
When the Bible says those who cater to their emotions cannot please or satisfy G.o.d or be acceptable to Him, it does not mean G.o.d doesn't love them. You and I can be in a terrible emotional mess and still be loved by our heavenly Father. Having emotional problems will not keep us from going to heaven. It just means G.o.d is not pleased with our lifestyle. It puts Him in a position in which He cannot do for us all He would like to do.
We all want our children to be blessed and to share in our inheritance, but we are not inclined to entrust our inheritance to one of our children who chooses to follow a lifestyle of unbridled sensuality. G.o.d is not pleased with those who live by the flesh rather than by His Spirit because He cannot trust them with His best. G.o.d still loves us, but He wants to be able to give us the best He has for us in the new life He provided for us in Jesus.
Allowing our emotions to lead our decisions will definitely prevent us from having a life filled with peace and joy. Emotional decisions always create trouble sooner or later and we live in turmoil because of them. The decisions we make today will provoke circ.u.mstances we must deal with tomorrow. If I lose my temper and make an emotional decision to quit my job because my boss makes me angry, then I may end up with a lot of stress a week from now when I need to pay my bills and don't have an income.
Hebrews 12 says no discipline for the present seems joyous, but later on it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. The law of G.o.d's kingdom is that we always reap what we sow. If we choose to sow discipline and right choices, we will reap a life of joy and peace. However, if we sow emotional choices, we will reap a life of turmoil and sadness. G.o.d sets before every person life and death and He instructs us to choose life. Since we all have the privilege of free choice, we must take responsibility for our lives and no longer blame circ.u.mstances and other people for all the things that go wrong. It is very simple: if we make enough right choices, we will have a life filled with peace and joy!
CHAPTER 66.
One Step at a Time Healing of emotional wounds is a process, not something that takes place all at once or overnight. It requires an investment of time and diligent obedience to G.o.d's commands. I realize from my own experience that it often seems that no progress is being made at all. You may feel you have so many problems you are not getting anywhere. But you are!
You have to keep in mind that even though you have a long way to go, you have also come a long way. The solution is to thank G.o.d for the progress you have made so far and to trust Him to lead you on to eventual victory-one step at a time. If you are reading this book and happen to be someone who has spent your life making wrong choices and you feel you have never made any progress at all, then you can get started today changing things in your life by making right choices!
In my oral presentations on this subject I like to hold up several different colored shoestrings tied together in a knot. I tell my audience, ”This is you when you first start the process of transformation with G.o.d. You're all knotted up. Each knot represents a different problem in your life. Untangling those knots and straightening out those problems is going to take a bit of time and effort, so don't get discouraged if it doesn't happen all at once.”
All of us have many similar problems, but G.o.d doesn't deal with all of them at the same time or all of us in the same way. The Lord may be dealing with one person about anger or bitterness, somebody else about selfishness, and someone else about another area completely.
If you want to receive emotional healing from G.o.d and come into an area of wholeness, you must realize that healing is a process and allow the Lord to deal with you and your problems in His own way and in His own time. Your part is to cooperate with Him in whatever area He chooses to start dealing with you first. You may want to work on one thing, and G.o.d may want to start with something else. If you pursue your own agenda, you will soon learn that G.o.d's power is not available for that problem. The grace (power and goodness) of G.o.d is not there to deliver you outside of His will and timing.
I tell people in my seminars, ”Being convicted by the message you hear in this meeting doesn't mean you are to go out and set up some kind of ten point plan for dealing with that situation. First you must pray and ask G.o.d to begin to work in that area of your life. Then you must cooperate with Him as He does it.” We do need to make decisions and be people of action, but we must also remember that Jesus said, ”Apart from Me you can do nothing (John 15:5).” In the world everyone seeks to be independent, but in G.o.d's economy we must all learn to be totally dependent on Him.
In the world everyone seeks to be independent, but in G.o.d's economy we must all learn to be totally dependent on Him.
As G.o.d deals with each of us in one specific area at a time, it may take anywhere from one hour to several years. In my own case, the Lord dealt with me for one solid year to get me to understand He loves me. I will never forget it. I needed that foundation in my life. I desperately needed to know how much G.o.d loved me personally, not just when I did what I thought I was supposed to do, but all the time-whether I ”deserved” His love or not. I needed to know G.o.d loved me unconditionally and His love was not something I could buy with works or good behavior.
As part of the process, I began to get up every morning saying, ”G.o.d loves me!” Even when I did something wrong, I would say, ”G.o.d loves me!” When I would have trials or problems, I would say it, again and again: ”G.o.d loves me!” Every time Satan tried to steal my a.s.surance of that love, I would say it over and over: ”G.o.d loves me! He loves me!” I read books about G.o.d's unconditional, unending love. I studied all the scripture I could find on G.o.d's love. I dwelled on it continually until I had that foundational truth firmly imbedded in my mind and heart: ”G.o.d loves me!” Through the process of continual study and meditation in this area, I became rooted and grounded in G.o.d's love as the apostle Paul encourages us to do in Ephesians 3.
One of our problems is in our modern, instantaneous society we tend to jump from one thing to another. We have come to expect everything to be quick and easy. We won't stick with a problem until we see a breakthrough and know we have victory in that area.
The Lord is not like that. He never gets in a hurry, and He never quits. He will deal with us about one particular thing, and then He will let us rest for a while-but not too long. Soon He will come back and begin to work on something else. He will continue until, one by one, our knots are all untied. It may be hard, and it may take time, but if you will stick with the program, sooner or later you will see the victory and experience the freedom you have wanted so long. I finally learned to be excited about what G.o.d was doing in my life, rather than dreading it. When I initially began my walk with G.o.d and He dealt with me about a problem I had, I often thought, Oh no, not another thing that is wrong with me! I eventually learned that G.o.d dealing with me was a sign of His love for me. He loves us too much to leave us the way we are.
Let G.o.d be G.o.d in your life and don't forget to enjoy the journey. The important thing to remember is: no matter how long it takes, never give up, and never quit!
CHAPTER 67.
Keep Pressing Forward The main thing G.o.d asks or requires we do to bring about the answer to our problems is to believe and keep pressing on. Study the Word of G.o.d and spend time with Him. If part or all of our lives are in knots, we may not be able to untie it ourselves. The simple truth is we need G.o.d's help. Some issues in life will be harder to deal with than others, and if we merely try to take care of things ourselves we often end up making matters worse.
At one time in my life I became so entangled in my problems and my futile efforts to untangle them, I was no good to myself or anybody else. I was extremely frustrated most of the time and quite confused. I felt I was really trying to change and that nothing I did was working. Then I learned from scripture that G.o.d will frustrate us if we are not leaning on Him.
For G.o.d sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful)-[and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them], but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble (1 Peter 5:5).
Once I learned to let the Lord handle the problems and just cooperate with Him, things began to work much better. Now I enjoy a life of freedom in Jesus and am able to help others who are as bound and tangled as I was.
When G.o.d convicts you of a problem in your personality or life, just agree with Him. Ask for His forgiveness and be willing to change, but realize you cannot change without His help. Ask Him to change you rather than trying to change yourself. G.o.d works in our lives as we place our trust and confidence in Him, not as we struggle to do things ourselves.