Ok!!! So CHAPTER 13! I triple checked to make this was the right one.
Intro
The intro starts with the fact that with Christ He will remove negative feelings if we ask him to. A little personal lesson I have have been learning this month. When I find myself angry or upset about a circumstance in life (which happens everyday) if I humble myself and pray the anger is removed. If I am praying about a sadness I have the pain doesn't always go away but I always have a peace about it. It never stops amazing me how fast God answers prayer! I have seen that so much recently, in life changing things and in details of life. Another thing that caught my attention was the feeling of being forsaken. Even Christ felt it. The poem Footprints in the Sand came to mind.
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there have only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?"
The Lord replied, "The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, is when I carried you."
-Mary Stevenson.
Anytime we feel forsaken all we have to do is call on Him. God is perfect He won't leave you. So that means that it is your fault, unintentional or not. We are the ones that always find ourselves drifting. The disciples had the privilege of walking with Christ daily and they still failed time. Be in rhythm with Christ. If you're not you will be able to tell in every aspect of your life.
9 Ways to Get Free of Negative Emotions
1. Refuse to be anxious about anything, knowing that God is in control of your life when you ask Him to be.
John 16:33 tells us that Christ has overcome the world already! I love that! The battle is already won. We will still have tribulations, but THE WAR IS WON!!! "We don't need to be anxious about everything, we just need to pray about everything."
2. Refuse to be RULED by anger.
Anger is the right-a-way for sin --> Satan. "An angry man stirs up strife, and a furious man abounds in transgressions" (Pro. 29:22). It is so true. When I look back at times when I was angry I see now the hurt in the others eyes or the pain I stirred up. I was often so wrapped up in myself I didn't even see it, or even care. That is something that if you don't catch will eat your relationships up an cause serious regret. Even if you are forgiven you still live with the regret until you make things right with the Lord. Once things are right you are free and God can continue His work in you.
3. Refuse to be dissatisfied and always complaining.
Being dissatisfied only makes you uncomfortable. It also makes everyone around you miserable and pushes them away. If you are tempted to be dissatisfied remember Philippians 4:11, "I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content". It is possible to be joyful in every situation. Remember joy is not the same as happiness.
4. Refuse to envious of what other people have.
Don't live in The Land of If Only instead focus on Jesus. When you think about our Lord nothing compares and all the material things fade.
4. Refuse to allow depression to rule your life. Psalm 6:8-9
God wants to lift you out of depression.
6. Refuse to be bitter about anything.
When bitterness sets in it eats you away. People notice a bitter soul. Bitter people seem incapable of showing love. When bitterness takes hold of your heart it also cuts of blessings. Ask his to give you a spirit of thanksgiving and praise.
7. Refuse feelings of rejection.
Always remember that god has not rejected you. You can always turn to His open arms and find everything you need and more. When God is the center of your life God will give you favor with other people.
8. Refuse to be hopeless about anything, not matter how hopeless it may seem.
"Hopelessness is death to the soul.". Without hope there is no reason to live. Hopelessness drives people to do desperate things, things that can never bring them true hope. Ask God for an attitude of gracefulness.
9. Refuse to let fear rule your life.
Spending time in God's presence pushes fear out of our lives. "If God does not have first place in our hearts, then we will be constantly fearing man."
Nicely done, Rach!
ReplyDeleteI want to add to the part where you were talking about how when you were angry, it affected others. Negative emotions can be contagious, but so can positive emotions. For example (and this is probably on my mind because I recently watched Lord of the Rings), in The Return of the King, Frodo is so worn down by the ring that he's despairing and not sure he can make it the rest of the way up the mountain to destroy it. Sam is optimistic though, and his optimism and willingness to help allow Frodo to finish the climb. So when you have negative emotions, and you ask God to take them away, they are often replaced with positive emotions, and everyone around you is positively affected. :)
I am not a fan of Lord of the Rings, Katie, but AMEN to the point you are making! Let's be positive and allow our positive attitudes to rub off on others.
DeleteExcellent job Rachel!! I loved hearing from you!
ReplyDeleteGreat job Rachel!! I loved how you sorta "broke down" the 9 ways to get rid of negative emotions.
ReplyDeleteThe one that really stuck out to me was Number 4: REFUSE TO BE ENVIOUS OF WHAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE. I have often struggled with this.... but what I always remind myself is that if I am too focused on what I DON'T have I am totally gonna miss out on all the things that I already have right here.
An illustration of this: sometimes I am jealous of other people's dogs. Not kidding. I'm like, "ugh I wish my dogs were well-behaved like that... I wish my dogs were that color..." and then I come home to my puppies and I'm like "BUT I WOULDN'T TRADE THESE TWO FOR THE WORLD!!"
So really, we have to remember that God has already given us everything we need because he knows exactly what we need; we have a rick inheritance in HIM.
Proverbs 14:30 really drives home the point: "A Sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones."
I know that does sound strange to us non dog lovers, Rachel G, but I totally can relate when it comes to houses and decorating and vacations and stuff like that. Thanks for your honesty. Bringing our sin out into the open makes us really think about it. I hate that I feel that way and I have to work at it to make it not so "negative"
DeleteGirls, I just got back and I am trying to get caught up with the blog. I am so impressed with how you are keeping up with it this summer and what a wonderful job you are doing by writing your summaries and your thoughts. I will read the chapters and make comments as soon as possible. I am proud to be in your lives and love watching all of you growing closer to the Lord.
ReplyDeleteLove, ms. Jeanne
Wow. Rachel, well done. So glad to see you got so much out of this chapter. I love how you used the Footprints poem. I have always been a fan of that. It is so reassuring to know the Lord will and does carry us thru the tough times. What a comfort. Not sure how non-Christians do it without a saviour. I love it that you re-wrote the 9 ways to get free of negative emotions. It is always good for me to read stuff and then to write what I read cuz it re-inforces it for me. Your summaries were great. My greatest challenge is number 4: do not be envious of what others have. I just need to focus on what the Lord has given my and not what I still want and cannot have. I know He provides all that I need AND SO MUCH MORE. I think all of these reminders are good for all of us as we all tend to fall into a lot of these categories on and off. If we trust the Lord, he will make our paths straight and take away these negative emotions which only seek to destroy us. DON’T LET SATAN GET A FOOTHOLD . 1 Cor 3:3 Where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?”
ReplyDeleteOn pg. 136, it says to pray about everything. Seems like a “duh” but how many times do we try to do it on our own. Guilty. I like on number 3 where when we are complaining, it just makes everyone else around us miserable and pushes them away. So true. I love Phil 4:11 “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content” Holy smokes, if after returning from Africa if I have not beat that into my head, I am really ungrateful. What a wake up call to see those people living in such primitive environment. Everything we have is MORE than what they have, materialistically speaking.
ON number 6 where she says “I should have won that award and not that other person” have you ever felt like that? I think it happens to lots of us. Not dwelling on those feelings and just moving on helps a lot. We can really get ourselves miserable if we try. Why try? Give it to the LORD. On number 7, re: feelings of rejection…when we become oversensitive to comments and actions of others, we can put ourselves into a pity party. Be confident girls. Do not allow what others think to shape you. Be shaped by what the Lord thinks of you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, remember? Try to sort out the source of why that was said to or about you. Walk in the other person’s shoes. Perhaps they are having a bad day, they are jealous of you, or they are have issues in an area of their life. Be kind. Also, in keeping with number 9, do not allow yourself to fall into fear of rejection.
Phil 4: 6-7 Be anxious for nothing…
Matt 11:28-30 ……my yoke is easy and My burden is light
Psalm 34: 17-18 ……the Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.