He knew we would not only need His word, the Bible, but we would also need the wisdom and strength of the Holy Spirit which He filled us with once we were saved by His grace. God gave us emotions and they are a very good thing to have, however, since this world belongs to the attacker he finds ways to trick us into questioning those things which we know to be true, by using our emotions against us.
Fear, pain, anxiety, unforgiving, to name just a few. The thing is when we study diligently we know that these emotions are not of our spiritual being but of our carnal self, and therefore, they are not real in the sense that they are disguises and masks, used to cover up the emotions given to us by the Father such as love, peace, joy, kindness, and forgiveness,which are fruits of the Holy Spirit.
However our all-knowing Father in His wisdom supplied us with the solutions to these carnal feelings in His word knowing the attacker would twist them to suit his needs, so let's take a look at the few I have mentioned above so that in the upcoming week when we are faced with some or all of these, our reactions will be fleeting instead of deep-rooted.
Fear was the first one I mentioned as it is an emotion we all deal with quite often, so hear are some of the scriptures I find most helpful in facing fear head on. In Isaiah 41:10(KJV) we read :Fear not; for I am with you: be not dismayed; for I am your God: I will strengthen you; yea, I will help you; yea, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. And in Luke 12: 29-34
29And do not set your
heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For
the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need
them. 31But seek his kingdom,
and these things will be given to you as well.
32“Do not be afraid,
little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
33Sell your possessions
and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a
treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no
moth destroys. 34For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also. All the answers are in our sword God's word, there is nothing we cannot find a solution or direction for.
Then there is Pain which we all have experienced either physically mentally or emotionally making it at times a real stumbling block, however when we seek the answer from God we can learn from it, and it will make us stronger as we read in Hebrews12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, for
those who have been trained by it, it produces a harvest of righteousness and
peace. All our loss and suffering will be replaced as we read in Isaiah 51:11 Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto
Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain
gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away
Next I mentioned Anxiety one of my favorite chapters in Philippians is chapter 4, and if we read down to Philippians 4:6 we're told, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. How about in Mathew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or
what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more
than food, and the body more than clothing?
When we are Unforgiving it goes against everything our loving father did for us through the ultimate sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ who died so that we might be forgiven. So it only makes sense that in order for us to fulfill our purpose and plan we must have a forgiving heart as our Father made clear His feelings on this in Mathew 6:13-15 13 And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, for ever. Amen. 14For if ye forgive
men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15But
if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses.Can He get any clearer if we don't forgive others than He will not forgive us, that's a very powerful part of the Fathers prayer. And He foretells of what it will be like in the last days and found it important to list unforgiving as one of those things to look out for in 2Timothy 3:1-3
1But mark this: There
will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be
lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to
their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love,
unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
4treacherous, rash,
conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of
godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. All part of the devil's plan, the good news is our Father told us what to expect and gave us all we need to overcome such things.
I know this is not my usual type of post but so many I know and love are going though various trials lately and I was moved and inspired to write some words of comfort so that all of us know we are in these together, Where two or more are gathered there He shall be. So let us know that as we read this together we will be lifting up and praying for all Gods children during these troubled times.
May the Holy Spirit fill us all with the strength, comfort, and wisdom we need in the upcoming week and may our loving Father continue to wrap us and those we love in His loving embrace. Hugs, love and prayers Patricia xx May the below poem from my upcoming book " Poems of the Eternal Heart a Daily Devotional" bring you encouragement and peace.
When the World Gets You Down
When others around you
don't seem to care,
and the troubles you face,
may not seem fair,
Remember your comfort,
lies a few feet away,
and reach for your Bible,
than kneel down and pray.
For God lives within us,
and knows all our needs,
and wants whole heartily,
to water our seeds.
But we must do our part,
and seek out His light,
renounce all that's wrong,
to proclaim all that's right.
No need to wallow,
we may stumble perhaps,
but those on God's team,
knows this is a wrap......
Patricia VanDenburg©
6/3/12
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