Christ gave a command to His followers to take up our cross and daily follow Him. That means we have an appointment to die every day. Listen to the podcast today to hear what this looks like, and how it could change the way you view and approach everything in your life.
How do you think it would effect your contentment, your relationship struggles or your worries if you followed this directive from the Lord Jesus? What do you need to release to be able to do so?
It’s such a paradox, but our life will have purpose and joy when we die daily.
What a wonderful Easter weekend we enjoyed! To celebrate our risen Savior is always the BEST part, but there were other added joys and gifts from the Lord!
My mom joined us! My husband and I picked her up and brought her to our home on Thursday, so we had a nice, long weekend together.
We enjoyed lunch at the best local fast food place, we did a little shopping, we visited the her great grandsons, and we ate meals upstairs in our quiet family room where we lingered and chatted. We taught her to play Rummikub and she caught on quickly and competitively! š
One person said showing women how to fix their own hair makes her happiest. Another said giving blood brings her the most joy. It made me stop and ask myself, “What gives me the greatest happiness?”
Iāll never forget the sinking feeling I had one summer day some years back. I had gone out to get something out of my Jeep, and when I opened the driverās side door there were my cassette tapes (my model was old!) strewn all over the seats of the car. My first thought was that my husband had made a mad search for something he needed. I came in and asked if heād been looking for something in my car.
His reply was, āNo, why?ā After I explained what Iād found when I went out to my vehicle, it was obvious to us both that someone else had been searching through my car in the night. The thief had to be sorely disappointed, because I had nothing of value kept there, and the only tapes they found (and left) were Christian music tapes.
It gave me a truly strange feeling to know that some stranger had been rummaging through my car and my belongings, right outside my bedroom door while I slept! We learned that our neighbors had also been burglarized, some losing valuable possessions. We all began taking precautions against this happening again. I began locking my car and we left on a flood light through the night. These were things that we should have been doing all along, but instead we had left ourselves open to the thief because we thought we were safe.
I think how often Iām robbed of other things ā things that I leave unprotected and unguarded, and as a result they are stolen away from me in a moment of distraction.
Iām robbed of joy when I am not walking in the Spirit due to unconfessed sin. Galatians 5:22a ā But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, genleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperanceā¦ When we are in fellowship with God, we have ALL of these!
Iām robbed of what the Lord wants to teach me if I donāt discipline myself and make time to be in the Word. Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
Iām robbed of sweet time in my home when I choose to tear down instead of build up. Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.Proverbs 14:1
Iām robbed of peace when I donāt hide Godās Word in my heart. Psalm 119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
I have a choice now – to lock up my car and also to leave the light on in hopes of discouraging thieves, or I can leave everything as it was on the day the robbery happened. An even greater choice is the decision to lock up tight, and āleave the light onā in my spiritual life so Iāll be very aware of the thieves that desire to steal precious possessions the Lord wants me to enjoy!
Are you safeguarding against the thieves of your heart?
A good day can turn into a very bad day in a matter of minutes. Here’s how it goes – 1. I allow my feelings to dominate my thinking – (“This is the worst thing ever! I shouldn’t have to deal with this!” Neither of these statements are true.) 2. My reactions then reveal the emotional tidal wave by spilling from my mind into my heart. (I pout, am angry or I retreat) 3. My mouth speaks what I’m thinking. (I may accuse, complain or verbalize in other ways the things I feel) 4. The result is always regret. (Hurt feelings of others, distance in relationships, or spiritual coldness in my own heart)
However, when I begin to feel those emotions (and we will all feel things about our situations or relationships), I must make the immediate choice to deal with it in the three ways I mentioned last week. Then the blessed results of choosing right thinking will follow! The results are…
Joy – Eve lost her joy when she went on her feelings and failed to trust God. But we can follow Paul’s admonition and “Rejoice in the Lord always.” If there’s no one else or nothing else to think about with joy, our dear Savior is always the best place to meditate. In Him we have so many reasons to rejoice! He loves us unconditionally! He will never leave us! He lives within us! He’s made a promise He’s coming again! He’s praying for us! He has provided us access to the Throne of God! For this and so much more, He is the center of our joy.
Peace in your own heart and peace with others. Eve, lost peace with God when she sinned. Her relationship with Adam was scarred, too. Paul reminds us in Philippians 4 to “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” This literally means “don’t worry about anything.” That “feeling” you have can become a fretful thing. Pray instead and let the peace of God rule in your heart!
Spiritual and emotional health – Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.Prov. 31:25 If we want to be strong spiritually and emotionally healthy, we simply live in the strength that comes from resting in the Lord. We can be like the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31:25 and have strength when we don’t lean on our emotions, but on our God Whom we are in awe of. We must realize that we can rest in His sovereign care for all that touches our lives and our feelings. When we have this kind of strength, we won’t end up an emotional wreck – no matter what we “feel.” Instead, we will be a woman of strength and honor. We hear a lot about emotional health. Here’s how to have it –
For good emotional health,
don’t depend on your emotions!
I don’t know about you, but I never like it when I’ve had times of emotional upheaval. Thank the Lord for His Divine help that enables us to mature in regards to our feelings.
If this post resonates in your heart at all, and you deal with fluctuating emotions as I have, make it a matter of prayer, asking God to help you apply #1-3 in the first part of this post.
Emotions are part of our make-up as women, but they should never be the boss of our lives! Let Truth override anything you may be “feeling.” Dig to find it in God’s Word. Ask loving questions of others. Then meditate on that truth instead. You won’t have regrets for doing so. Ask Eve.
RefreshHer 