When did my life become a mess of emotions, temptations, and confusion? I’m sitting down now to process this past week and I’m not sure how to put it into words. It hasn’t been a bad week. It’s been an intense week of struggles between what I feel and what I know as TRUTH. I make the claim that I tend to be more of a rational than emotional person in the way I relate to people, view situations, make decisions, etc. But apparently, being human means that we are, in fact, emotional beings. Sometimes our hearts sway our minds. Sometimes we rebel against God’s truth and try to seek temporary satisfaction. And here’s the deal… I’m all about some SATISFACTION. But I don’t want it to be short-lived. I don’t want to settle for less. And I do think there are more important things in life than being happy… yes, I do.
I was unaware that the “emotions” and attitudes of my heart stemmed from not trusting God to bring me the satisfaction I felt like I needed to acquire on my own.
I’m thankful for life situations that make me stop and re-examine myself. Sometimes you don’t know how vulnerable you are until you receive that unexpected hit to the gut. I want to be secure in myself and who I am. And what that looks like right now is trusting that God knows what will bring me security and satisfaction much better than anything I can find.
A couple thoughts from a Judah Smith sermon…
1 John 2:17- “The world and ITS DESIRES pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”
The world is only temporary and so are its desires. Those desires pass away with the world UNFULFILLED.
John 17:15- “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world”
Judah Smith suggests that being worldly is not actions or things. It isn’t on the exterior, but rather the interior. It is an outlook, philosophy, or ideology that is removed from God. Often we subscribe to attitudes and perspectives that aren’t from God, but have over time seeped into our life and we have adapted them to make them our own.
I am guilty of meshing my selfishness and worldly desires with God’s truth and living by that like it’s the truth. And at times it happens without even realizing it!
1 John 2:15- “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
This is our answer. I need more of God’s love. I need to open my heart up for more of his love to fill me up.
As it turns out, it isn’t just me. It has been a week of emotional struggles for several other of my teammates as well. As a result, we’ve been able to encourage and uplift each other. I do not yet know these girls, I am thankful to have them in my life already. Hope someone is also encouraged by this!
