What’s the Matter?
Have you ever tried to hide behind Scriptures and suppress your feelings of hurt and pain under the guise of holiness? Sometimes while striving to walk in the Spirit, we get so deep that we find ways to rationalize pain in an attempt to cope. There were times when I was going through something, and I felt guilty about how sad or upset I was about the issue. I chalked it up to “I need to get out of my flesh.”
Many of us assume that when we receive salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit, we aren’t going to feel normal human feelings anymore. But, God created us with emotions and the ability to express them. When we fight them, we prevent the God of all comfort from consoling us in a way that only He can.
When things happen that you don’t understand, do you struggle to allow yourself to feel?
Allowing yourself to feel will protect you from bitterness. God wants us to be free to express ourselves to Him. We don’t have to be pretentious – He is our Father and that makes Him family. He cares for you.
I used to look at God as some huge far-away, unattached Lord and our “little” feelings were our problem. I felt like He was too important to be bothered with my issues. I thought I just had to keep it moving, God is God and that’s that. Then, we soothe ourselves with the misery sayings of others, “Well it could be worse, there are people out there sick, lost, hungry, etc”.
Jesus is Touched by Our Pain
We have to understand that God wants us to trust Him with our honesty and transparency. If we give Him our hearts and let Him know we’re hurting, He is faithful to comfort us. Psalm 116:1-2 says, “I love the Lord because He has heard my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.”
God wants to be a Father to us, but we need to open up to Him. Psalm 142:1-2 says, “I cry out to the Lord with my voice… I pour out my complaint before Him. I declare before Him my trouble”. This lets us know that it’s okay to let Him know how we’re feeling. And, since God knows all, you can’t hide your hurt from Him anyhow – so why try?
I think it breaks God’s heart when we withhold even small discomforts from Him. We’re quick to pray about everything else, but when our soul needs His love the most, we allow fear and guilt to creep in. It makes us feel like “it’s not right to complain to God”.
Team, it is not a sin to be hurt or upset!
God is There When We Need Him
Ecclesiastes 3:4 tells us that there is a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. As much as we’d like to think that life with God is smooth sailing with all the dancing and laughing we can stand, we are reminded often enough that that’s not the case.
Walking with God ensures that we overcome our troubles – not that we won’t experience them (John 16:33). It’s difficult to comprehend that God’s goodness is not contingent on our life’s “goodness”. In that, we struggle to find the balance between being hurt with loving and submitting to Him when we just don’t get it. Sometimes, instead of resting in the arms of God, we just suppress our pain and get mad at ourselves for being human.
The Spirit taught me that there is a way to allow yourself to grieve without having to question the love of God. He wants us all to get to that place and it starts with transparent communication with the Lord.
God is Bigger Than our Problems
It was revealed to me that my love will never be as deep or as strong as God’s love. Likewise, neither will my pain be stronger than God’s love. He loves us more than we’re able to fathom. So, when we’re hurting, He feels it too! Whether it’s a death or sickness, God’s compassion far exceeds our grief.
Psalms 34 17-18 says that if we cry out to God, He will hear and deliver us; He is close to the brokenhearted and saves those with a crushed spirit. We have to yield ourselves to Him for His comfort to take effect.
My first lady said recently that sometimes we don’t pour out our hearts to God because we don’t want to be disappointed. We don’t want to lose hope if we don’t hear anything right away, or He doesn’t send us a prophetic word. We’d rather hold back from God than to trust that He loves us enough to do what He said – deliver us from ALL our afflictions.
Team, never lose sight that God will stick closer than a brother – He will never leave or forsake us.
I believe God would rather we took Him at His Word and tested it than to try in our own strength to overcome. Though we’ll face pain and hardships in this life, pain pushes us toward a loving and wonderful Father who wants to be everything to us. Every battle gives us an opportunity to get to know God at a higher, personal level through our need for His consolation.
So, What’s The Play Call?
Don’t be so hard on yourself when you are going through. It’s okay to be sad, to grieve and allow yourself the freedom to express your emotions. Just remember that God is always with you and waiting for you to turn to Him with the issues of your heart.
The Word tells us to be angry, but do not sin (Ephesians 4:26). Don’t allow the pain to give a foothold to the devil – because sin crouches at the door!
Encourage yourself in the Word. Psalms 34, 37, and 40 are a great place to start.
God Bless.
I’d like to take you back to the opening days of creation in the first chapter of Genesis and lead you through the encounter in the garden where Adam and Eve ate of the fruit in chapter 3.
In the third chapter of Genesis, we view the fall of humanity. Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It was the singular express commandment God forbade of His creation. In their disobedience, they entered into the knowledge of good and evil, bringing forth sin, guilt, shame, and desire for things which would draw them away from their Creator. They no longer reflected the righteousness of God. Instead, they projected their sinful desires.
Lifespan Development highlights the average age in which we reach certain milestones. I want to highlight early childhood and adolescence because we form our identity during these stages.
Lifespan development also teaches us how important it is to raise our children up in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6). Children start to distinguish words and sounds at about 6 months old! Knowing this, we can be sure to read the Bible aloud, play appropriate music, and avoid unwholesome talk (which we should be doing anyway). Our example to them is most important because they need to see us walk the walk.
Motivation is essential to growth! Internal motivation is what drives you to what God has for you. My Intro to Psychology textbook defines motivation as wants or needs that direct our behavior toward a goal. For example, if you’re tired, you’ll be motivated to go home, shower, and get in bed. This seems so simple and obvious, but in reading this I realized that whether you are productive or not – motivation is present!
In the body of Christ, we’re always learning. Proverbs 18:15 says “Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge.” It’s important to know your preferred method of learning – seeing, doing, hearing – so that you can figure out how to make the best out of your 
The Bible declares that God is our Father and our heavenly Father’s heart is for His children. He has our best interest at heart. Remember, love is not self-seeking (1 Corinthians 13:5) and God is love (1 John 4:8). Therefore, God is seeking what is best for us because He is love.
When we know God’s heart we will never miss God. When we understand His heart we won’t just know what to do because we fellowship with Him, but we will also know why we’re doing what we’re doing.
In Matthew 14:22, Jesus gives orders to the disciples to get into a ship and go to the other side while He dismisses the crowd. As the disciples followed His orders and began cruising to their destination, they encounter a storm. As they are battling the storm, Jesus comes toward the ship walking on water. When they see Him, they mistake Him for a ghost.
