Feelings of Rejection Are a Lie from the Enemy

an Everyday Christian devotional
Feelings of Rejection Are a Lie from the Enemy
By Lili Richey Willard 

I am going to write about something that has long plagued me, my entire life. From the time I was a little girl, to right now, today, I have faced the monster called...rejection. 

Yesterday, I was talking to God on my way to work, which is not an unusual thing for me. And I am most grateful that during that time, He often gives me a word, or rebukes me for something I said or did (although in a sweet manner), or He urges, no, commands me to do something. I was sharing with Him my feelings about life in general, like the crazy time demands from my job, my home life needs, my friends and family time, my poor suffering hubby's patience with 'the woman who lives at the computer'! I was, in other words, lamenting, but with an honest heart, and in need for a kind word from Him. And I got it.

Yes, He told me, almost as if I heard His awesome voice, that I must write about it all. He zeroed in on the one thing I mentioned that was really at the heart of my conversation with him to begin with...my feelings of rejection. Now, this blog today is not the actual article I am to write. He was very clear how to, when to, and why to. The time is not now. It will be soon, but I will know when to do it. But He also wanted me to start expressing myself, and my emotions, to others, and I believe that is because so many of us really do share these feelings of rejection, inadequacy, the Less Than Syndrome. 

Alot of this has no basis in fact. There has been no precipating event. No big moment where something awful happened stands out in our memory. Dates, times and places do not necessarily define the cause. It's just there. For me, I can pinpoint certain 'things' that happened in my past that may be contributing factors, but there is, again, no one thing. It's an accumulation, I think, of events, dates, people, situations, that cause the hopelessness called rejection to take root in our minds, and which robs of us interactions and successes at different times in our lives. 

I remember when I was little, almost all the girls in my grade school classes excelled in gym class. Not me. I couldn't even do a real somersault, and don't even go there about cartwheels! I was not especially well-balanced (physically!) so was extremely uncomfortable about pushing my head under my belly and flipping over in a graceful and 'safe' manner. Even with kind hands guiding me, I tended to be afraid I would break my neck or something far worse. Ultimately, the other girls would laugh, not in a mean manner, but it was laughter just the same. My cartwheels...well, I would end up facing in the completely opposite direction, and my legs never would go all the way up in the air. I shudder even today to think what that must have looked like!

I was never good enough to excel in anything growing up. I was not top dog in my grades, though I did alright. I never got the part in the school plays, never got to be the singer in the musicals, never got much hand clapping or praise at my piano recitals. My piano teacher even told me I would never be a player like my cousin Jerry, who had long, graceful fingers compared to my short stubby ones, and who eventually went on to be a concert pianist. My teacher was good to me, but that sentence spoken to me took root. And I applied it to everything I attempted to do. 

We put ourselves in boxes because of what others say about us. We actually allow that, and maybe some of us even welcome it, because there is our excuse when we do fail at something. 'I never do anything right', 'Why would I think this time would be different?', or even, 'Some things never change'.  We set ourselves up for failure, simply because we have accepted the lie the enemy started whispering to us when we were young. And we pattern our lives around that lie, and it eventually stunts emotional and physical well-being, offering them up in sacrifice to a truth that is not the truth.

In Genesis 46:3-4, God gives an example of how He will intercede for us, His own children, and how He will make us successful. So why is it that we do not listen and learn from what He has told us? There are many examples throughout the Bible of God lifting us up from our insecurities, dangers, and failures. He will do today what He did then. We must simply read, meditate, and believe. 

When we allow ourselves to feel rejection, when we think we can't do that thing we want to do, that we cannot succeed at something that deep down we knowwe are equipped to do, we are then putting God in a box. He does not belong there, and He will not stay there. But He came, and He came to give us life, and more abundantly. Read John 10:10. Jesus tells us what the 'thief' is up to, how he is out to steal all good things from us, but Jesus already has great news for us.

Live today like you are the most successful of the successful. Renew your spirit in God's Holy Word, and believe in who He says you are. When we allow Him to make the path we walk upon, then when we arrive at our destination, there will be joy and thanksgiving. And rejection will be just another word in the dictionary!

an Everyday Christian devotional

8 Traits of a Godly Friend

by By Gina Burgess

God designed humans as social creatures therefore we are taught from the first of our toddling steps how to share, and how to communicate with others. We will gravitate to those that have similar interests so we share commonalities. Generally, we do not choose whom we work with, nor do we choose whom resides next to us (unless we own that house, too). But we do choose our friends. Fair weather friends and associates are plentiful, but good friends are hard to find because our society has changed gears in recent decades toward more work time, and less play time. In years past, it was easy to find friends among those you went to church with, but today it is getting harder and harder to do so because we just do not make time for making new friends. Churches have cliques just like those in junior high and high school. That is the saddest state of affairs I’ve noticed in the past twenty years. Even joining the choir doesn’t automatically make church friends anymore. You would think nuts would like to hang out with nuts.

• A godly friend is faithful. Proverbs 18:24 A man of many friends come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, but a brother is born for distress. Proverbs 22:11 He who loves pureness of heart, grace is on his lips; the king shall be his friend. Proverbs 27:10 Do not forsake your friend, nor your father's friend, and do not go into your brother's house in the day of your calamity, for a near neighbor is better than a brother far away. 

• A godly friend tells the truth even if it hurts. How can hurt be sweet? Because Proverbs 12:26 The righteous searches out with his friend, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Ecclesiastes 7:5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. 

• A godly friend uses kind insight speaking gently. Job 16:21 O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleads for his friend! Psalm 15:3 He does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his friend, nor lifts up a reproach against his neighbor. Proverbs 25:20 Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on soda, Is he who sings songs to a troubled heart. Being bold with truth can cause great harm because it matters as much how we say something as what we say.

• A godly friend helps the soul to stretch. Just as a friend consoles us in our day of trouble, a godly friend will probe into motives and our purpose expanding the thought processes for godly decisions. Proverbs 20:5 A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water, But a man of understanding draws it out. Let’s not forget the way iron sharpens iron so one man does to another Proverbs 27:17.

• Godly friends offer wise counsel. Fair weather friends will only look toward their own benefit and not care about what is good for the friendship or what is good for you. When a friend speaks, compare his words with biblical principles. If they match, then the counsel is wise. Proverbs 27:9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, and one's friend is sweet from the counsel of the soul. Proverbs 20:18 Purposes are established in counsel; yea, make war with wise guidance.

• Godly friends are not fools. Proverbs 1:7 The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Pro 13:20 He who walks with the wise shall be wise, but one associating with fools shall be broken. A friend who prays with you and for you can be counted on to pray for wise words to counsel you.

• Godly friends have self-control. Part of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. We are human, but someone who talks of getting even, has a short fuse, and who crosses the courtesy line continuously is not a godly person and we are not to associate with them. Proverbs 22:24-25 Do not associate with a man given to anger; Or go with a hot-tempered man, Lest you learn his ways, And find a snare for yourself. Ecclesiastes 7:9 Do not be hasty in your spirit to be angry; for vexation rests in the bosom of fools.

• Godly friends will shun evil. So often we find ourselves ensnared in Satan’s web simply because we are not on our guard at all times. We let worldly themes seep into our thoughts rather than pursuing all things that are noble, good, righteous, and the like as Paul adjures. Proverbs 24:1-2 Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them; For their minds devise violence, And their lips talk of trouble.

The friend who is steadfast during times of rejoicing as well as in times of grief is the same one who will stand fast in times of need. There is great blessing in being this kind of friend.

Psalm 15:1 A Psalm of David. O Jehovah, who shall dwell in Your tabernacle? Who shall live in Your holy mountain? 2 He who walks uprightly and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. 3 He does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his friend, nor lifts up a reproach against his neighbor. 4 In his eyes, the reprobate has been despised, but he honors those who fear Jehovah: He has sworn to his hurt, and will not change it. 5 He has not given his silver at interest; nor has he taken a bribe against the innocent; he who does these things shall not be shaken forever.
 
Jesus sent us the Comforter, our paraklētos, the Holy Spirit who will always walk beside us, encouraging us, convicting us of sin before we ever put hand or foot to the sin. When the Holy Spirit recognizes Himself in another, you will feel it deep inside and you just know this person is worthy of your trust. Are you that kind of person?

TURN AWAY FROM DISCOURAGING VOICES

By www.jesus-is-lord-the-way-the-truth-the-life.com's FaceBook page

TURN AWAY FROM DISCOURAGING VOICES
"And David turned away from Eliab…" (I Samuel 17:30, AMP).

When David was a shepherd boy, his father asked him to take lunch to his brothers out on the battlefield. When he arrived, he heard Goliath taunting and challenging the people of God. David asked the men standing around, "What is the prize for defeating this giant?" They said, "The reward is one of the king’s daughters in marriage and no more taxes." That got David’s attention. He knew this was a battle worth fighting.

When David’s older brother, Eliab, heard him talking about fighting the giant, he tried to embarrass him. In front of all those men Eliab said, "David, what are you doing out here? And what have you done with those few sheep our father left you with?" He tried to make him feel small. He was saying, "David, you’re not important. You’ll never do anything great." But I love the way David responded. The Scripture says that David turned and walked away from Eliab. I believe one of the main reasons that David was a champion is because he knew which battles to fight. He knew to turn away from discouraging voices so he could focus his energy on the real battle.
What are the discouraging voices coming against you? Choose to turn away from those distractions so you can turn toward the victory God has in store for you!

From Tragedy to Triumph

From Tragedy to Triumph


A Girlfriends in God email devotional
by Mary Southerland

Today's Truth
"These (trials) have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 1:7, NIV).

Friend to Friend
I am told that in the famous lace shops of Belgium there are certain rooms used for spinning the finest and most delicate designs of lace. Each room is completely dark - except for one small window. Through this tiny window, light shines directly on the work at hand. A solitary spinner works in the darkness, sitting where the narrow stream of light will fall on the delicate thread. The choicest pieces of lace, the most exquisite designs, are created when the worker is in the dark and only his work is in the light. When it comes to handling hurt, we often find ourselves sitting in the darkness of frustration and pain, wondering if anything good can possibly be salvaged from the broken pieces of our lives.

I will never forget the day I learned that God really can turn tragedy into triumph. I was sitting at my desk, working on an assignment from the counselor I had been seeing. For months, I had been wrestling with my past; slowly, methodically working through painful issues and buried memories that seemed to be feeding the clinical depression I was battling. As page after page filled with harsh realities, a memory slammed into my heart and mind.

The pain was overwhelming as a vile scene from my childhood slowly took shape. I could hardly breathe as I frantically tried to escape the certainty I had been molested. The perpetrator had been our family doctor and friend. He had even provided free medical treatment when we had not money to pay. I had trusted him, counted on him. As a nurse, my mother had worked beside this man every single day and often watched his children when he and his wife went out.

Anger unlike any I had ever known fueled violent thoughts of revenge and retaliation. I was angry with this man - and angry with God. How could He have let this happen? Where was the light in this dark place?

For months, I worked through painful memories and raging emotions until I saw the first glimmer of light. It was wrapped in chosen forgiveness. And I began to see that had I never been wounded so badly, I would never have been able to forgive so freely - and in doing so, discover a depth of healing and freedom only the greatest pain can produce. Today, I can honestly thank God for all He has accomplished in me through the sin of that man.

There are no accidents with God, nor is He surprised by anything or anyone in the life of His child. God uses even the most horrendous circumstances for our good. The same can be said of relationships. Every relationship - difficult or easy - comes to us for a purpose, wrapped in God's love and plan and faithfully delivered with His permission. The apostle Paul gives clear directions for the handling of these difficult relationships:

"Live in peace with each other. Encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:13-18). It is only in God's economy that being thankful transforms tragedy into triumph.

Let's Pray
Father, I come into Your presence, choosing to believe that You are faithful and will do what You have promised to do in Your Word. I lay my pain at Your feet and surrender my hurt to You. Only You can ease my pain and restore my joy. Only You can turn the broken places of my life into living illustrations of Your sufficiency and power. I praise Your name, Lord, and choose to trust You today.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.

Now It's Your Turn
Do you really believe that an attitude of gratitude helps us measure our problems against the limitless power of God, turning stumbling blocks into stepping stones? Explain.

Read Psalm 43:4. "Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God." What does it mean to "go to the altar of God" in dealing with hurt and pain in your life?

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:18. "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." How does this verse apply to the way you handle hurt and pain in your life?

More from the Girlfriends
Only God can take the broken pieces of your life and make something beautiful out of each one. He is waiting for you to let go of your pain and trust Him. And you really can. No one loves you like He does. You may not always understand or even like His process, but you can always trust His heart of love for you!

 

What Does the Lord Require of You? It’s Simple . . . Really

An Everyday Christian Devotional
By Dan Buckhout

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord  require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”--Micah 6:8

“I have a case against you.” Yikes! That’s something we don’t want to hear spoken about us. How about this? – “’I have a case against you,’ says God.” Double yikes! Micah was the prophet called by God to deliver this message to the people of Israel many years ago. God’s people were getting it all wrong and Micah was asked to explain it to them and to tell them what was going to happen as a result. (It wasn’t pretty.) He wrote a book about his message and experience so that God could speak to us through it today.  So what does it have to do with us? Ummmm. . .well, God has a case against us. Triple yikes! But there’s good news! In the message Micah delivered were the simple instructions on how to straighten it out. Interested is knowing what it is? Me too. Let’s get started.

What’s the case? (see Micah 2:1-3, Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28)

In Micah’s time, the list of infractions included devising wickedness, coveting, defrauding, and walking proudly. Before we breathe a big sigh of relief – thinking we’re innocent of such charges – let’s fast-forward ahead in time a few hundred years to Jesus’ time on Earth. The people of Jesus’ time said God didn’t have a case against them. Jesus responded by establishing the proper standard by which to  measure such things. Murder and adultery were topics of Jesus’ discussion. Jesus taught that these sins are committed in the heart long before outward actions are taken. Anger and lust in the heart are the root causes of murder and adultery. So everyone in Jesus’ audience got the message. If they had ever been angry with someone or had ever looked upon another lustfully, God had a case. Yikes! So let’s admit it, God has a case against us too. Now to figure out how to straighten it out. . .

What not to do (see Micah 6:6-7, Matthew 6:5)

In Micah’s time, God looked at all the things the people were doing to compensate for His case against them. Through Micah, He told them they were doing two things wrong. (Later, Jesus backed him up on these.)

First, they were trying to deal with things by putting window dressing around it. Through empty religious rituals the people were trying to sweep God’s case under the rug. They figured if they gave more sacrifices and spent more time at the Temple, they could make sufficient payment to erase the case against them. God wasn’t interested. In Jesus’ time, the religious leaders were doing much the same thing. Their window dressing took the form of loud, wordy, public prayers, meant to demonstrate to the crowds that God didn’t have a case against them.

Second, they were making it too complicated. Through a complex set of prescribed rituals and offerings the people thought they were addressing the case against them. What they were really doing was substituting rituals in the place of dealing with the real issues. In Jesus’ time the complicated web of legal compliance that the leaders had put in place focused on looking pious rather than owning up to the case against them.

Today, we do the same. We go to church on Sunday and think that buys us a free pass when we get angry with the one who cuts us off in traffic on Monday. We pray diligently for God to straighten out the flaws of the world and then let our eyes linger on the sexy billboard or coworker. We devise complicated packages of logic to excuse our actions while condemning the actions of others.

What to do (see Micah 6:8, Matthew 6:6, Matthew 5:23-24)

The people in Micah’s time, in Jesus’ time, in our time are all called to get on a two-way street and understand the equal importance of the “traffic” that flows in each direction. In one direction – how we act toward others – we are to act justly. We are called to treat others with the love that God has for us and for them. Don’t act toward others in ways that are selfish or unfair. In short, love ‘em always! In the other direction – how we respond when others act toward us – we are to love mercy. When others don’t treat us with kindness and love, we are called to extend mercy to them. Understand that God has more than enough love for us and don’t require it from others as a payment for receiving love from us. Be understanding. Just as God shows mercy to each of us, we should extend it to others.

Walk Humbly With Our God

Not only do we have to get on a two-way street of just actions and mercy, but we must get on the right two-way street. To walk humbly with God, we must be on the road God is on. Inviting God to walk with us on the road of our choosing, is not walking humbly. It is walking proudly, on a road we deem more important than the road of God’s choice. God wants us to walk with Him, on the road He has purposed just for us. We must be willing to change the road we’re on and seek after God’s presence on the road He is on.

This is God’s plan. Pretty simple isn’t it? We tend to make it more complicated than this because, while God’s plan is simple, it is hard. The complicated, window-dressed approach is really just trying to substitute an easier plan. Yet, it accomplishes nothing but furthering the case God has against us. Instead, we are to keep it simple  – act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. That’s the truth.

“He has shown you what is good. When you substitute religious activity for what is good, you are not doing what He has shown you. What He has shown you is simple, yet hard. You are to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

That’s the YouTruth. Walk Humbly With Your God.

What Should You Do When Standing at a Crossroads?

What Should You Do When Standing at a Crossroads?


An Everyday Christian Devotional
By Heidi Avery

"Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16

I love road trips! I think you will agree that good driving directions are essential for successful road trip.   Technology offers us some great options that promise to get us where ever we want to go. Google maps, auto navigation systems and Smart Phones easily do all the map work for us. But, even though our old AAA maps seem outdated we still like to keep one handy in our glove box just in case technology steers us wrong… and, it has!

Getting lost is never fun. It takes precious travel time to figure it out. Whether you’re just staring at the map or finding reliable local expert assistance time will be lost.

Life is like that sometimes too, isn’t it?

You find yourself steadily moving along and suddenly you’re at a crossroads. You pull right up to your own personal intersection of life and wonder “where the good way is?”

Crossroads are planted everywhere and they are unique to each individual, but what it all boils down to for each of us are the choices we make each day. And, really it’s about “who” we are making choices for.

We live in a fast paced, self-involved world and it’s spinning so fast most of the time that we are making decisions by the minute, sometimes without thought. And, because of this our own plans and selfish desires often make their way on to the path ahead.

Guess what? The crossroads are not there by accident.

They are reminders. Free supernatural moments handed down to us by our loving Creator causing us to stop and seek the ancient paths to find the good way… His way.

Standing at the crossroads, we put on the breaks to our own urgent agenda; remain still long enough to clearly see beyond ourselves for His way ahead.

What should we do at the crossroad?

Get out your road map… The Bible.  Just like the fold-up maps our Bible can overwhelm us at times, especially when we are feeling stranded and pressed for time. But, it’s the only way!

Seek expert assistance… godly counsel in confirming your new path. God often gives us great wisdom through the people around us and we are wise to seek it.

Pray… Seek Him and test whatever advice you are given by others.

Just like on a road trip, pulling out the bible and seeking godly council will cost us precious travel time. More than that, pursuing Jesus first in our lives means we absolutely will lose our lives. But, in return we get to claim His promises…

"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” Matthew 16:25

That motivates me... you?

The simple reminder that our eternal lives are at stake by not following Jesus gets my attention, but it's not enough and it's selfish thinking too. Don’t get me wrong our eternal lives are at stake and that should motivate us, but we ought to follow Jesus because HE is GOD and because we love Him desperately and so much more than our own life.

If we sincerely seek the good way it can always be found in the ancient paths… the old ways. That’s exactly why God gave us the Living Word, to guide us through this life. It may indeed be old, but as Ecclesiastes reminds us “there is nothing new under the sun.” 

What we do at the crossroads determines whether or not we’ll find the rest that our souls desperately long for.

Emotional Intelligence: The ABCs of Emotions. Part 8: Emotions Gone Bad and Mad

Emotional Intelligence: The ABCs of Emotions.
Part 8: Emotions Gone Bad and Mad


An Everyday Christian Devotional
By Bob Kellemen | Founder and CEO, RPM Ministries

 

Introduction: You’re reading Part 8 in a blog mini-series on Emotional Intelligence. Read Part 1: Emotions: God’s Idea, Part 2: Why We Feel What We Feel, Part 3: Good News about Good Moods, Part 4: What Went Wrong?, Part 5: Our Emotions and Our Bodies, Part 6: How’s Your EI?, and Part 7: Become an Emotional Mentor. I’ve developed this series from material in my book Soul Physicians.

Mood Disorder: Emotions Gone Mad

So far in our blog series on emotional intelligence, we’ve focused on how God designed us as emotional beings. We’ve called this “Mood Order.”

However, we’d be quite naïve to imagine that our emotions and moods are always well-ordered. Because of our fall into sin, we’re not the way we’re supposed to be—we are depraved and disordered. For emotions, we call this “Mood Disorder.”

In Ephesians 4:19, Paul chooses a very rare Greek word, apēlgēkotes, to describe mood disorder. The word literally means “past feeling.” We cease to feel and care. Tired of feeling, we shut ourselves down to the messages that pain sends. As a result, we lack emotional intelligence, sensitivity, and awareness.

Designed to be responsive to the world, others, and God, we close ourselves off. We think we’re too smart to smart anymore. In our folly, we decide that hurt is too painful, even if reflecting on hurt enhances our relationships. We become obtuse to emotional messages—emotionally dense, relationally stunted.

Refusing to Need God: Emotions Gone Bad

What is the essence of fallen emotionality? Instead of using emotions to experience deeply the life God grants us, we misuse our emotions to forget the pain in our soul and the sin in our heart. We pursue whatever pleases us for a season. We live as if this world is all there is.

We also pursue whatever pleases us for a reason. We live to survive, to make it somehow—without God.  You see, facing our feelings force us to face the fact that we must live face-to-face with God to survive.

In our refusal to depend upon God, we pinball between two self-centered, self-sufficient emotional survival modes.

• Out-of-Control Emotional Expression

• Over-Controlled Emotional Repression

Both styles share the refusal to listen well to our emotions, the refusal to use our emotionality to evaluate where we are spiritually. We refuse to face our feelings because we refuse to need God.

Using Our Feelings as Spears: Out-of-Control Emotional Expression

Paul further describes sinful emotions in Ephesians 4:19 as “giving themselves over to sensuality.” We’re ungoverned. Out of control. We’ve taken the brakes off our emotions.

We decide that we want nothing to do with managed moods. If we feel it; we express it. If it hurts others; so be it.

Consider King Saul. He massaged his jealousy toward David. When the women of Israel met Saul and David with dancing and song, they sang, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7). Saul was enraged. This refrain galled him. “And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David” (1 Samuel 18:9).

Caressed anger leads to expressed anger.

“Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, ‘I’ll pin David to the wall’” (1 Samuel 18:10b-11a). Saul perfectly pictures imperfect, sinful emotions—we use our feelings as spears to hurt others.

Like all unmanaged moods, Saul’s resulted from a foolish internal evaluation of a difficult external situation. No doubt it would be emotionally distressing for most leaders to hear subordinates praised to the extent people praised David.

Experiencing this, Saul kept thinking to himself, rather than talking to God. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” (1 Samuel 18:8b).

Saul catastrophized. Imagining God to be a Hoarder, Saul could not imagine that there was enough respect and responsibility to go around for both David and himself. This town was not big enough for the both of them because God was not big enough for Saul.

Emotional sensationalists wear their emotions on their sleeves and hurl their feelings like a spear. They will not be controlled. They refuse to be inhibited. Their feelings become their god.

Yet, their feelings never direct them to God. They may feel their feelings, indulge their feelings, but they never engage their feelings, never use their mood states to detect their spiritual state.

And Us?

I know. We’re all thinking about people—other people. People who have treated us like this.

But what about us? Am I, are you, are we ever guilty of indulging our feelings? Do we ever use our feelings as spears to harm others? Do we refuse to face our feelings face-to-face with God?

The Rest of the Story

Some may wonder, “Well, yes, I do this—so how do I cling to God so I can change?” Great, honest question. We’ll address that later in our series.

Others may say, “Well, that’s not my style. I do the opposite. I stuff my feelings.” In our next post, we’ll examine that mood disorder in: Why Stuffing Our Feelings Is Sinful.