Both/And Healthy Emotions and Faith
Theme: Healthy emotions and living out faith.
Text: John 17:17, 15:4, Psalm 119:153-160, Proverbs 13:12
Here’s a thought: Healthy emotions would reflect Christ.
I tend to see the world a little bit black and white at times so something I have had to learn along the way is both and - I am not exactly where I picked it up but it has stuck with me for the past few years and pops up now and again as a bit of an anchor phrase in my mind in which to hang some different lessons
It started as a communication/conflict resolution tool - instead of arguing and insisting on my point of view I can listen and hear the other person side and then in understanding and love share mine as well. It is both and. That way the other person knows they are heard and their opinion is valued. Even things that on the surface once dug into can at times turn into a both and situation.
note I am talking about understanding and not advocating syncretism or compromising truth
So, I want to talk today about healthy emotions and faith
and let me be the first to confess that I am not always an emotionally mature and healthy person. I hope I am growing in the right direction and that even in this area I am becoming more Christ like but as I share some thoughts today it is with the humility that this is a process subject for me. It is a both and. I am still learning and growing and I have learned some things along the way. Like Paul in this subject, I want to say
” Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. “ Philippians 3:12-16 NASB1995
Honesty
I have shared this with you before but it continues to be a fundamental truth the Lord takes me back to particularly when pursuing a topic like this.
Story of Wrangling
have to make some adjustments - move a couple of boxes
God wants is to deal with our emotional boxes
Maybe - have other way in on or share their processes
My process - something might be troubling me on the inside - it like there is a cloud of emotion obstructing my view of the heavens.
Internally
I may feel like
I can’t hear the Lord as much or as well
Praying is hard
I am feeling numb and avoidant
I may feel hopeless and overwhelmed
I may feel stuck and frustrated
Externally
I may turn to numbing and avoidant activities like tv or other mindless things
I may be numb in my responses
Exhibit low motivation
Be irritable or easily frustrated and angry
As I have shared before the key for me is often to go before the Lord, and sometimes it can also be with a safe friend and to start by being honest with how I am feeling and move through that to a place of hearing the truth - the word of God which is truth
” Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. “ John 17:17 NASB1995
” Look upon my affliction and rescue me, For I do not forget Your law. Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word. Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes. Great are Your mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Your ordinances. Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, Yet I do not turn aside from Your testimonies. I behold the treacherous and loathe them, because they do not keep Your word. Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness. The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting. “ Psalms 119:153-160 NASB1995
spoken word
Written word
(What do I mean by a safe friend?)
you have a relational bridge with
Is kind and understand and is not going to try to “fix” or rush me through the emotional process
Who loves me enough to “hear” me but also speak the truth in love. And finally, who is moving toward the truth with me.
Other people have a different pattern.
speed up get busy
Tackle there to do list
Ex story of Theresa and going through the drive through
But the bottom line is emotions follow truth and we believe
Maybe give another opportunity to share about process?
Hope deferred
” Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life. “ Proverbs 13:12 NASB1995
the heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect
properly to be rubbed or worn; hence (figuratively) to be weak, sick, afflicted; or (causatively) to grieve, make sick
I bring this up because for me I am finding that this can be a huge area that for me leads to low motivation or conflicting emotions
How does this work?
Times God will speak to us about something - promise - or a truth in his word
We go along - life happens knowingly or unknowingly we have expectations about what and how things will look or the promise will be fulfilled
when that doesn’t happen, we can begin to live in a space of hope differed
We can watch others who we view as succeeding or having their promises fulfilled and while happy for them, we feel “sick” for ourselves
People in this room can talk about hope differed - we all can - that’s the point
What does it lead us into
Blinds us to the blessing around us - keeps us from seeing
Story of the person praying and receiving but not even realizing she was receiving
how do we deal with it? - Honestly
” Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. “
Romans 12:1-2 NASB1995
Faith
we know that faith is not based on or subject to our emotions
We also know that we all have emotions and go through hard times
so where is the both and? Why bother to talk about emotions and faith at the same time?
Remember when we talked about honest and moving toward being cantered on the word of God - we read John - here is that the rest of the passage says
this leads us back to John 15 -
” Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “ John 15:4 NASB1995
even our emotions, our hearts need to abide in Him
Healthy people will experience loss, grief, anger but all of these things need to be shared with him so we don’t get stuck in any one of these things
Getting stuck - healthy things grow - so getting stuck and being stagnant are not healthy
so, what happens when we abide - we bear fruit
what is the evidence of our faith? - we bear fruit
Want to close with Mark 4:
”“Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”“ Mark 4:3-8 NASB1995
the Sower -
” The Sower sows the word. “ - seeds
Doesn’t seem to mind about where the seed falls - simply continues to sow
We don’t always reap right away (in the same season)
So, the both and again:
we are called to sow seeds of faith
We are called to tend to the soil of our hearts
Having healthy emotions helps to position us to sow - not be so concerned with what type of soil the seeds are falling on
And having healthy emotions helps us deal with the soil of our hearts
Do we have Rocky hard soil because our hurts have made is calluses and hard
Are we easily distracted by the cares or this world because we are trying to numb out and avoid?
Healthy emotions help us with the faith process - be obedient, risk, to see God move and to do it all over again
” But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, “
Romans 10:8 NASB1995
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Message Title: Both/And - Healthy Emotions and Faith
Theme: Healthy emotions and living out faith.
Bible Text: John 17:17, 15:4, Psalm 119:153-160, Proverbs 13:12
Here’s a thought: Healthy emotions would reflect Christ.
I am learning to think this way as I interact with others.
We do not need to compromise truth.
I am on a journey in this area of my emotions.
Healthy emotions would reflect Christ.
As Paul said, “I have not attained yet, but I press on …”
Paul was talking about knowing Christ here.
We need to deal with …
Emotions
I was delighted to buy a used clothes frame, but it was a challenge to fit it into my car. This can be a reflection of the emotional boxes in our boxes so they fit correctly.
Sometimes when we are working through emotional challenges it feels like there is a cloud hanging over our heads. We can feel stuck and frustrated. What do we do with this?
We can keep them bottled up and open up and move through these emotions.
What is the real truth?
David expressed his emotions in his Psalms and moved to truth.
Psalm 19:53-60 - the sum of your word is truth.
We can work through these emotions individually and in community.
We have different coping mechanisms to deal with these emotions.
Hope deferred
Proverbs 13:12 - hope deferred
We all have broken hopes and expectations.
We can miss answered prayers when we live in the space of hope deferred.
The Lord loves us and wants to lead us to the tree of life.
Romans 12:1-2 - Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, proving the perfect will of God.
Faith
It is not about feeling saved, but resting in knowing we are saved.
John 17:17-21 - Sanctify them by truth, so they may know that you have sent me.
The enemy wants us to be disconnected and isolated.
Healthy things grow.
We can get stuck and isolated.
Mark 4 - the parable of the sower.
The farmer in this parable was not concerned with the soil, but simply scattered the seed.
We are called to sow the seed, and the Lord is responsible for the rest.
We are responsible for the soil in our own hearts.
