Somewhere Between Feeling and Numbing, We Can Hide, Insert Void-Fillers, or...

...Allow God to Do What He Does Best: HEAL

We were made to feel. Somehow, someway, or somewhere there was some one (or several someones) who told us that having those feelings are inappropriate or wrong. They brought us to a place of shame when they should have been helping us learn to manage them. Then there are those experiences that we may have had that made us feel powerless or afraid or worthless, and because we never wanted to feel the depth of sorrow that those uncontrolled emotions brought with them, we adopted a strategy to hide behind an intricately built wall of protection. Behind this wall, we are free from anything that is thrown at us... we are even left with a piece of peace... but... are we (actually) free? Are we truly at peace? Selah [pause and think about this].

Freedom is defined as (1) the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint; (2) the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved; (3) the state of being physically unrestricted and able to move easily; and (4) the state of not being subject to or affected by (a particular undesirable thing). << With this is mind, if we’ve been pushed behind a wall, or even if we voluntarily walked behind the wall that we built that is not freedom. We are enslaved, restricted, and restrained because we were negatively affected by the consequences that may have come from what we felt that caused us to speak, think, or act incongruently with what we were told was right.

Stay with me, I’m going somewhere with this. :)

Peace is defined as (1) freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility; (2) freedom from dispute or dissension between individuals or groups; (3) free from anxiety or distress; (4) to become reconciled. Behind our walls, we may be undisturbed (or in today’s culture we like to say ‘unbothered’), but (again) are we FREE from dispute? Can we become reconciled if we’re not letting anyone or anything get past our walls?

It’s amazing to me how inter-connected freedom and peace are... to truly experience them means taking time to create an entry space in our walls or knock them down entirely so that light (and reconciliation) can come through.

I am a recovering emotional eater and shop-a-holic. Shhhh... don’t tell anyone. :) I’ve discovered that if I’m not eating or - on the opposite side of the spectrum - if I’m over-eating or binge-eating I’m in distress over something that I think I can’t share with anyone about. Finding bargains makes me feel good! If I can shop and get lots of things for less, ohhhh it turns my stress into happiness. It gives me a sense of value... but it also clutters my house. And with clutter as a result, in those moments that I’m self-soothing, I’m not buying things that I need. I’m going to put myself out here and say I’m being wasteful. When I do these things I’m not managing my negative emotions, I’m compounding them... piling them higher and higher... because now I’m creating more work for myself to do in the end - both internally and externally. My eating and shopping habits are (temporarily) filling a void that can only be healed by the Master.

I want to offer us three (3) healthy ways to manage our feelings (emotions).

1. PRAY ABOUT IT! 2. TALK ABOUT IT! 3. WRITE ABOUT IT!

PRAY ABOUT IT!

We can ask God for what we need concerning our situations, and in the asking trust that He will do what’s needed to bring resolution.

Exodus 15:2 “The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him—  my father’s God, and I will exalt him!”

Psalm 62:8 "Trust in him at all times, oh people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us."

TALK ABOUT IT!

We can release our innermost thoughts in conversation with a trusted individual. That release in dialogue with someone can help dismantle detrimental thinking and expose new ways of seeing the situation.

Proverbs 19:20 “Listen to advice and receive discipline, that you may become wise by the end of your life.”

Proverbs 13:10 “Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.”

WRITE ABOUT IT!

We can write to our heart’s content, knowing that the page (or pages) we’ve drenched with ink will be available for us to view days, weeks, months, or even years down the line for us to look back and see how far we’ve come.

Psalm‬ ‭77:11-15‬ ‭MSG‬‬ “Once again I’ll go over what GOD has done, lay out on the table the ancient wonders; I’ll ponder all the things you’ve accomplished, and give a long, loving look at your acts. O God! Your way is holy! No god is great like God! You’re the God who makes things happen; you showed everyone what you can do— You pulled your people out of the worst kind of trouble, rescued the children of Jacob and Joseph.”

What step will you take toward your healing today, that will allow you to begin dismantling your wall(s)? Please comment below so that I can pray in agreement for your victory, and please take a listen to this song: https://youtu.be/TD3zS_GxS3M

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