Emotional Deliverance, Part 2

Pro 25:28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.


Coming To an End of Ourselves 

The Scriptures teach that all born-again believers can be emotionally healthy, sanctified, led of the Spirit, and fruitful in their Christian pursuits. But how does one achieve these great promises. The short answer is truth; there are fundamental truths, taught by the Word of God, that we must understand and apply, in order to walk in spiritual and emotional wholeness.

Humility

The first truth is humility; we must be humble before God and allow Him to define what is true. Humility must be the position of our heart as we seek Him. Humility elevates God, His Word, and His will, above our personal opinions and preferences. Humility is a heart attitude toward God that sees life and its problems from God's perspective. With pride, we have the last word, and with humility, God has the final say. Normally we think of pride as being conceited or self-centered because of ones beauty or ones accomplishments. But pride comes with many faces. We can be preoccupied with our unattractiveness, our lack of accomplishments, and we can allow things like ongoing pain to take us, emotionally, to a place that all we can see is our pain. Anything that makes our life the center of our thoughts has the potential to lead us away from God and into pride. Chronic illness, injury, marriage problems, business reversals, or failures of any kind, all have the potential to re-orient our thinking away from God and toward self. If we're not careful, our reversals can be used by Darkness to convince us of the inability or unfairness of God in not meeting our needs.

It is God' s will that our circumstances be a commentary on His provision, His sustaining power, and His eternal purposes for us. Pain has the potential to displace God from the center of our life; we can be emotionally consumed with our pain. Pain is both an opportunity and a challenge. The challenge is to not allow pain to dominate our life. We can become so preoccupied with its debilitating effects, that we no longer relate to life or to God from a spirit of thankfulness. Our circumstances can powerfully turn us inward: Our thinking, our conversation, and every relationship can reflect the weight of our inward pain, rather than reflecting Christ. Our opportunity is to know Christ in a way we have not previously known Him. Those in pain, who keep their humility, find their blessings outweigh their problems. Humility will keep our heart and mind preoccupied with God and His goodness; humility gives our heart and life a sweet aroma. Humility will find personal fulfillment in Christ while pride will keep pain and its personal cost foremost in our thinking.

Serious pain is a reality that we all will eventually experience; and it will either reduce us to humility or elevate us to pride. For this reason we emphasize the role of humility in our emotional and spiritual health. Humility is the position of our heart before God; humility, in the presence of pain, elevates God, His Word, and His will. Humility is not bitter, nor is it angry; humility does not feel cheated. Humility sees the mercy of God, pride sees only our painful circumstances.

PROV 29:23 A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.

Our circumstances reveal our heart. We can become depressed or we can be thankful. We can submit to the hand of God or we can curse the day we were born. We can pray for fruitfulness or we can allow pain to rid our heart of all desire for fruitfulness. Humility perseveres, even in the unfairness of life, because humility see the hand of God. Pride is not only hardened by unfairness, but embittered by pain.

Pride has a way of justifying bad attitudes; the heart of pride is skewed away from God often depressed and angry. This bias is the result of self at the center. Self says "if I'm hurting then I have no reason to honor God with my mouth, my attitudes, or my behavior". Just the opposite is true. It is imperative during times of intense pain or intense struggle to aggressively honor God with our mouth, our attitudes and our behavior. Darkness sows seeds of confusion and hardness when we're preoccupied with our own difficulties.

PROV 11:2 When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.

As Christians, we are told to humble ourselves.

1PET 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

Notice that we are told to bring ourselves under the mighty hand of God; we have a responsibility in this matter. We are not asked to enjoy suffering, we are asked to bring ourselves under His Lordship in our suffering. Pain can cause us to curse the Lord, not with words, but with the silence of a heart that no longer offers God praise or gratitude. Jesus is our example of humility. He humbled Himself in the presence of pain by looking forward to the joy that was set before Him. This is the way of humility; it endures the pain, rejoicing in the promises of God.

Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Humility Sees the Promises of God


Humility and lowliness give a perspective of our problems that keeps us from being consumed by them. Jesus endured the suffering of the cross, for He saw the joy that was to come. Humility sees God and His promises to be greater than the suffering we will experiencse in this life. The Scripture says "all things work together for good to them that love God, that are called according to His purpose", humility is encouraged for it sees that something positive is happening. Humility believes and is encouraged by what God says. Pride can see only its own pain and its own injustice and is not encouraged by anything that God says. Humility brings us to an end of ourselves; lowliness "trembles" at what God says. Pride respects only its own opinions and seeks only its own fulfillment. Pride sees nothing but its own pain and its own problems, and as a result, Christians that walk in pride cannot find rest nor peace for their souls.

IS 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Psa 46 1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

2Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

3Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

Hab 3:17Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

18Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

19 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places

Life on earth will come to an end, but the Lord has given His people eternal life. Life is about Jesus Christ and His redemptive purposes; He is saving His people. He is not only worthy of our highest love, but in response to our love, He gives love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control (temperance). These qualities are fruits of the Holy Spirit. If we walk with God then we can and will be emotionally and spiritually whole.

God Bless you,

See Emotional Deliverance-3

Psa 25:1-15 Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. 3 Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. 4 Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. 5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. 6 Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O LORD. 8 Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. 9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. 10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. 11 For thy name’s sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great. 12 What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. 13 His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth. 14 The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. 15 Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.

James 4:1-3 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 3Y e ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Isa53:1-12 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors

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