What if you read the following words to yourself daily? God gave me these words...
I was made for Your glory!
I have a destiny!
I was made to bring You joy!
I have a purpose!
I was made unique in Your heart!
You will never leave me!
You will never let me down!
Show me where to go and I will run with You!
Your ways are higher than mine.
There is no fear in Your love!
You are adopted by God… Eph. 1:5 states, "He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will." God not only created you, He adopted you! God knew exactly what He was doing when He created you - no mistake was made. He delights in you and loves you with an everlasting love!
Friday, June 16, 2017
Appropriate Use for Anger
What makes you angry? Do you generally lose your temper when you are mad? Or cry? Or stuff your feelings away?
God can help you use the angry feelings for good.
What is an appropriate way to use anger?
1. Feel the anger. It is normal to feel a feeling. However, if you dwell in the anger and allow resentment to build, that is when the feeling becomes harmful to yourself and others.
2. Do not feel guilty or bad about feeling angry. Instead, see it as a tool. Did you just have a very dramatic defensive reaction to a small issue? This is a clue to the root causes and by praying about it you can discover what is underneath it all.
3. Pray about what is making you angry. Ask God for the next step. There are many underlying emotions to anger: guilt, fear, pride, insecurity, rejection, loneliness, sadness, fear of failure, anxiety, depression, etc. Anger artificially helps us feel in control when we are actually out of control.
If you are angry because someone has attacked you emotionally, ask yourself, "Does this person's opinion matter more than what/who God says I am?" Does this person have the power to define who you are?
Consider changing the way you view strong emotions. Rather than a burden, see them as a clue to unraveling the path toward freedom in Christ. God wants you to lead a life not based on how you feel, but who you are and where He wants you to go!
God can help you use the angry feelings for good.
What is an appropriate way to use anger?
1. Feel the anger. It is normal to feel a feeling. However, if you dwell in the anger and allow resentment to build, that is when the feeling becomes harmful to yourself and others.
2. Do not feel guilty or bad about feeling angry. Instead, see it as a tool. Did you just have a very dramatic defensive reaction to a small issue? This is a clue to the root causes and by praying about it you can discover what is underneath it all.
3. Pray about what is making you angry. Ask God for the next step. There are many underlying emotions to anger: guilt, fear, pride, insecurity, rejection, loneliness, sadness, fear of failure, anxiety, depression, etc. Anger artificially helps us feel in control when we are actually out of control.
If you are angry because someone has attacked you emotionally, ask yourself, "Does this person's opinion matter more than what/who God says I am?" Does this person have the power to define who you are?
Consider changing the way you view strong emotions. Rather than a burden, see them as a clue to unraveling the path toward freedom in Christ. God wants you to lead a life not based on how you feel, but who you are and where He wants you to go!
Thursday, June 01, 2017
Agreement With a Diagnosis
God just revealed to me that I was in agreement with a diagnosis of anxiety from twenty years ago, still. Despite my powerful experience with becoming healed of the migraines, I did not realize there was still this diagnosis and it had become a part of my identity.
What does it look like to be in agreement? To agree with a diagnosis means looking at life through this different lens. What do you say about yourself to others (in reference to the diagnosis)? For instance, for twenty years now I have said, "I am an anxious person." Or "I don't sleep well." The diagnosis had become a part of who I was which now affected sleep and the way I viewed life. By taking on the diagnosis as a part of my identity, it's power grew. I was actually speaking over myself and making it more intensified by saying things like, "I probably will wake up worrying about this." etc.
I didn't realize I was still identifying with this. I no longer took medication for anxiety, but by just having this as a core part of my identity, it has really been affecting my life subtly.
What are you in agreement with? Perhaps a generational issue like "my family has always had trouble with losing their temper"? Or have you been giving a medical diagnosis that has reshaped your entire life? Have you ever found yourself saying something like, "Well, that's just the way I am."
The first step is awareness. Begin to listen to yourself. When you talk (or think) about yourself is there something that you are in agreement with? Jot it down. Pray about it. Ask God what He wants you to know about that.
God wants you to live in ultimate freedom. He can do so much more with you free rather than bound up in sickness and old patterns. He has never had a bad thought about you. It is not His will for you to be sick, but rather in ultimate freedom.
Understand who you are in Christ. Don't know? Check out some verses here. Or just get out your journal and ask God, "What do you want me to know about you? What do you want me to know about me?"
I will write more about strategies to undo old patterns, mindsets, and yuck. I just took the time to do this for myself and feel way different than I did an hour ago. God is awesome! He loves us! Praise the Lord!
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