"So I speak over my heartbroken soul,
'Take courage. Remember when you used to be
right out front leading the procession of praise
when the great crowd of worshipers
gathered to go into the presence of the Lord?
You shouted with joy as the sound of passionate celebration
filled the air and the joyous multitude of lovers
honored the festival of the Lord!'
So then, my soul, why would you be depressed?
Why would you sink into despair?
Just keep hoping and waiting on God, your Savior.
For no matter what, I will still sing with praise,
for living before his face is my saving grace!
Here I am depressed and downcast.
Yet I will still remember you as I ponder the place
where your glory streams down from the mighty mountaintops, lofty and majestic -- the mountains of your awesome presence."
~ Psalms 42:4-6 TPT
Are you letting your emotions control you?
If I were to answer this truthfully, I would have to say yes. Over the past week or so, I have really been letting my emotions get to me. Not only had I already been stressed, but my feelings ultimately made everything worse. I already wasn't maintaining a daily relationship with God, and when my thoughts came pouring down, I crashed. It was already too late to realize that I was spiraling in a mess of my own thoughts.
However, almost all of those thoughts were completely made up. When I asked myself today why I was discouraged, I did not have an answer for it. I could not pin point the specific reason why I was feeling the way I was feeling. What made me so upset? What made me unmotivated? Sure, I may have been stressed and even a little discouraged, but I didn't feel the way I did because of it. I felt the way I did because I amplified those feelings. I amplified the lies, the past insecurities, which caused me to go into a pit of despair. To be honest, more than half of those feelings probably were never there in the first place, but because I started to believe them and dwell on them, they also impacted me as well.
In this Psalm, the psalmist is asking themselves why their soul is so downcast. And instead of dwelling on the circumstance their in, they remember what God has done for them and they praise Him for it. They do not dwell on their feelings, but, instead, they put their hope in God and who He is.
When I realized, this morning, that I didn't have anything to be upset about, I couldn't help but feel stupid. Did I seriously dwell on those feelings for so long even though there was really no reason to? What did that accomplish? I mean, we have a God who loves us and cares for us, who is always with us and is always there for us, yet I chose to dwell on my feelings instead of giving it to Him? I chose to allow my emotions to influence me and how I acted? That just sounds incredibly self-centered.
It's important to recognize our feelings, but we must not allow it to influence our actions. Acknowledging our feelings and why we are feeling the way we do is the first step to surrendering. If we want to submit to God and surrender ourselves to Him, we need to allow Him to take all. That means, we need to pick out the reason for our feelings and give it to Him, instead of dwelling on it. Because when we allow our feeling to control us, it begins to control every aspect of who we are and the way we act.
So, is there something in your life that you need to give to God? Is there something holding you back from what God has called you to do?
And if you ever find yourself in a similar position, point out the specific reason for your feelings and then pray about it. Also, remind yourself of what God has done for you in the past and His promises for the future.
Dwell on the truth, not on your emotions.
____ ____ ____ ____
"So I say to my soul,
'Don't be discouraged. Don't be disturbed.
For I know my God will break through for me.'
Then I'll have plenty of reasons to praise Him all over again.
Yes, living before His face is my saving grace!"
~ Psalms 42: 11 TPT
Revival's In The Air by Bethel Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9TCQuni5Jw
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