Category: Encouragment

Biblically expressing emotion

Part 1

New book study! This month I am embarking on a verse by verse journey through Lamentations in the Old Testament.

One of the reasons I specifically wanted to slowly delve into this book is to uncover its profound insights on Biblically expressing our emotions.

I want to comfort people in a Biblical way, embracing the Bible’s holistic approach to our well-being.

Emotions can be messy and confusing. Bob Kellemen, a renowned former professor of biblical counseling at Faith Bible Seminary, sheds light on ways to express our feelings in a God-honoring manner. These same principles are beautifully woven throughout Lamentations as well.

First, there are two unbiblical ways to express emotion:

1. Out of control expression

  1. Over controlled suppression

Out of control expression means indulging all of our feelings without any filter. It is what the Apostle Paul warned against in Ephesians 4:19 when he said people had sinfully “given themselves up to sensuality.” They did whatever they felt. Feelings became their god instead of their feelings directing them towards God.

Over controlled suppression means stuffing our feelings down or pretending they don’t exist. Paul also called this out in Ephesians when he said, “Be angry and do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26). Though it is not ok to sin, it is OK to acknowledge anger. Denial or self-deception towards our feelings does not work.

Where we see this in Lamentations:
Lamentations is not a rant or an unmeasured outburst of feelings. It is a carefully constructed expression directed to God (e.g., “O LORD, behold my affliction” Lamentations 1:9). Yet the poet also did not suppress the very real hurt and pain he and others felt (e.g. “For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears… “ Lamentations 1:16).

Lord, enable and teach me to measure my emotions in a Holy way today. 🙌🏻❤️🙏

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More than we can ask

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

How important is imagination to you? Remember as a kid using our imagination to play? We may have created worlds, stories, characters all by imagining what could be. Sadly, for many of us, practicing our imagination slowed down as we became adults. Honestly, this is a tragedy.

Reading brilliant fiction like C.S. Lewis and his space trilogy, Perelandra, or Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings stirs our imagination and helps us exercise a muscle that is actually vital to the Christian life.

In Ephesians 3:20, when Paul says, “more abundantly than all that we ask or think,” the English word “think” is the Greek word noeo, which deals with imagination. Paul expects us to think and imagine in anticipation of all that God would do for us, and reminds us that the spot where our imagination is exhausted, the good things God has for us expands even beyond that.

God’s intended and desired good for us is beyond our imagination and is possible because it is rooted in the power of the Spirit within us. (Ephesians 1:19)

There are some things that we ask God.
There are some things that we think but do not ask because we are afraid they are “too much.”
There are other things to which we could pray that are so grand, we haven’t even thought to pray them yet.

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

God is not just able – He is MORE than able! 🙌🏻

The depth of God’s Word is amazing. Lingering in these two verses this morning blessed and convicted me in a NEW way. This morning when I woke up, I was thinking of my prayer journal and all of the prayers the Lord has answered and then out of nowhere I had the thought of “hmmm, I haven’t lifted up any BIG BOLD prayers in awhile”… I moved along in the morning not really thinking about that again until this morning’s Bible time.

The Lord really met me and expanded upon this mornings waking thought through these two verses.

❤️🙌🏻🤯

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Where you find OR place your identity matters for eternity.

Paul opens up Ephesians by clearly stating his identity:

“This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬

Then – In Ephesians 1:4-10, Paul immediately begins by reminding us of our identity. Our identity in Christ is that we are holy and dearly loved children of God. We get this identity when we receive God’s gift of salvation through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. This identity is not based on us, but rather, it is placed on us because we have been adopted into God’s family. Just like when a baby is placed into a family either through birth or adoption, they become a son or a daughter and take that family’s name as their identity. It is the same with our identity in Christ.

This isn’t because of our work, our successes or how good we try to be. We become children of God by grace through faith in Christ.

Paul wants our spiritual identity to frame our minds and thoughts. He desires to help us think rightly so that we may speak and act rightly.

An important truth is that our adoption to the Father is an action of pure love by a God who is not impersonal, but deeply connected and concerned with the objects of His love, you and I! 🥰🥰🥰

I was reminded of this powerful truth this morning – the longer I walk with the Lord sometimes I forget just how broken I was before I surrendered everything to him, and before I understood that my identity comes from him. I grew up in a deeply broken home. My father’s hands were representations of pain, hurt, abuse. My mother was so concerned with her own survival that she represented competition, coldness, self centeredness. This all led me to believe I was unworthy of love, safety, I felt as though I had no value.

Just hearing the simple gospel message had the power to begin to change me, it made me spiritually new, but it did not do the deep work inside of me to change where I found my own identity – only through diligent study of God’s word and submitting everything to him first before the world – have I been able to come to know and believe that I am my father’s daughter.

Friends, let’s not forget that our adoption as children of God comes with an expectation.
When we remember and think of the great and glorious truth of being adopted by the King of heaven and earth, and that we share in the inheritance of the King, it should result in a desire to reflect and live up to the standard of the King and His Kingdom. This means instead of just going along with what the world deems acceptable in our thoughts and our words, that we set a higher standard for ourselves to “be holy and blameless before him” (Ephesians 1:4). To be holy and blameless includes allowing the truth of our adoption to lace the words that come from our mouth and inform every action of our hands and feet. It doesn’t mean we will always do this perfectly, but it does mean that we are daily checking and intentionally redirecting our thoughts and our words to stay in line with God’s instructions. It’s not because we are guilted into it but because we desire to stay free of the entrapments of the enemy that come from thoughts polluted with lies and words tainted with bitterness, slander and harshness.

Adoption means we now have God as our Father. It means that we receive the inheritance that could only legally be given to a son.

This is profound.

#IdentityInChrist #IdentityExploration #themeekmomma #biblejournaling #autismfamily #solagratia #GraceAlone #adoption #testimony

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God is patient

“When the tribe of Ephraim spoke, the people shook with fear, for that tribe was important in Israel. But the people of Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal and thus sealed their destruction.

Now they continue to sin by making silver idols, images shaped skillfully with human hands. “Sacrifice to these,” they cry, “and kiss the calf idols!”

Therefore, they will disappear like the morning mist, like dew in the morning sun, like chaff blown by the wind, like smoke from a chimney. “I have been the Lord your God ever since I brought you out of Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior.

I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. So now I will attack you like a lion, like a leopard that lurks along the road.

Like a bear whose cubs have been taken away, I will tear out your heart. I will devour you like a hungry lioness and mangle you like a wild animal.”
‭‭Hosea‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Maybe the idea of carved images and pagan alters built on hillsides can feel far away from the practices of our current day. Maybe we’re tempted to read the prophecy of Hosea as though from a safe distance, believing the problems of God’s people and Hosea’s time are unrelated to today- self-centeredness however, is a problem for all people, including you and me.

 In Hosea’s day the people of God became enamored with and distracted by what Jesus would call “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things” (Mark 4:19). And the more they forgot God, the more irrational and immoral, their lives became. In Hosea 13:2, we even see that the people were willing to “offer human sacrifice” yet “kiss calves” made of metal- they valued false gods made by humans more than they valued humans made by God.

It would be remiss of me not to mention abortion here. Abortion is the baal worship of our current day. The self-centerdness of the “my body my choice” movement is nothing less than pride and the forgetfulness of God. Two pre-born human beings are murdered every minute of every day in the United States of America.

Just like in the times of Hosea, we too deserve God’s wrath but He remains patient.

God is showing you mercy right now, begging you to turn away from your sin and be reconciled to him. I love you and believe that the Lord is not slow about his promise but is patient toward you not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9).

I was once an enemy of God too, but it was his grace that saved me and set me free to follow him. It would be hateful to withhold this truth from you when you have the chance to be washed clean and reconciled to your Creator. Today is the day of salvation. God‘s judgment will not delay forever.

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God knows us and is with us

This weekend while I was away Jackson was so brave and really did his best to utilize his tools and coping skills that we have built into our home. My family also did their very best to support him and let me have a weekend away, seeking the Lord with other women.

It always takes a full day or two for me to not have half my mind at home, a quarter dealing with guilt and a spirit of fear, and a quarter actually present in where I am at. But praise the Lord that He did not give us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:2).

Saturday night when I was really beginning to feel undivided – Zac calls me to say Jackson had locked the both of them out of his truck while it was running on some logging road, he needed my help and he was using a strangers phone. If I am being honest, it did take me a moment to pivot back to the thing I had been trying so hard to not worry about! But in that the Lord was so good to bring “stranger Steve” to my family, so they could use a phone and he gave them a ride home to get Jackson out of the woods in the dark. I got a roadside assistance driver dispatched and what should have taken him 3 hours actually only took about 40 minutes! He showed up and stranger Steve stayed at the end of the road to be sure he saw where Zac was.

I was praising the Lord and the enemy wasted no time trying to come after my family and my peace in my praising. But the enemy is weak compared to our God. 🙌🏻

I continued to praise and went back into the retreat.
My family struggled in the hard in the middle of the night into the morning and day. Jackson’s meltdown came after as I am sure he was trying to process what all just happened- Zac was scheduled to teach in kids class but couldn’t do that while getting little sleep and with our son’s needs so high. A brother and sister graciously covered for him and us. ❤️🙏 It took a huge amount of humility for Zac to ask for help, this is kind of a weak spot of ours.

Meanwhile, I had no choice but to lay it all at my Savior’s feet and surrender it to Him – while I worshipped and covered my home, my husband, my son, in prayer.

God somehow strengthened ALL of our dependence on Him this weekend in a way least expected but also so true to Who He is – He is with us in all times and especially in the hards.

When the enemy whispers the lie that you are not known, seen, or understood –

Shout with praise the truth that God has an all-inclusive knowledge of us, our kids, our family members and friends. He knows us more than anyone else, even more than we know ourselves.

“O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Thank you Lord for placing us in circumstances and situations to remind us of your sovereignty and our need of dependence on YOU alone Lord.

Guys – the enemy is a liar. 🤥
Our God is with us and He is fighting for us. 💕⚔️⛓️‍💥
Cover your home and your people in prayer. 🙏

The retreat was just a short walk from the beach
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