Overcoming struggles

The battle to overcome your emotional struggles is a battle for your mind. If you are worrying, stressed out and depressed, it is because you are thinking things that are not true.

In 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, Paul writes,

“…for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

It is not our flesh that we fight but rather our minds and what Satan tries to do to our minds. One of Satan’s favorite strategies is to plant his thoughts in your mind so completely that you come to believe they are your thoughts, so you will begin to act on these thoughts.

This strategy of Satan may get you to ask the question, “Well, how can I be blamed for acting on these thoughts if they are not mine?” Friend, you are not responsible for every thought that comes into your head. But you are responsible for how you act on it. This is why we are to take “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

When a thought comes seeking to lure you deeper into worry, doubt, anger, hatred, shame or more, you have two choices. You can reject it, or you can adopt it and make it your own. When you reject these thoughts, you free yourself to focus on the Spirit.

If you will set your mind on the things of the Spirit, you will have both life and peace. You will also have purpose, meaning and joy. With the Holy Spirit governing your thoughts, external circumstances do not dictate your responses. If you want to overcome your emotional struggles, change your thoughts. If you seek to be set free from that which holds you hostage, then set your mind on God’s truth.

Freed

The battle to overcome our emotional struggles is a battle for our mind. If we fine ourselves worrying, stressed out and depressed, it is because we are thinking things that are not true. In 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, Paul writes,“for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

It is not our flesh that we fight but rather our minds and what Satan tries to do to our minds. One of Satan’s favorite strategies is to plant his thoughts in our mind so completely that we come to believe they are our thoughts, so we will begin to act on these thoughts.

This strategy of Satan may get you to ask the question, “Well, how can I be blamed for acting on these thoughts if they are not mine?” Friend, you are not responsible for every thought that comes into your head. But you are responsible for how you act on it. This is why we are to take “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

When a thought comes seeking to lure us deeper into worry, doubt, anger, hatred, shame or more, we have two choices. We can reject it, or we can adopt it and make it our own. When we reject these thoughts, we free ourself to focus on the Holy Spirit.

If we will set our mind on the things of the Spirit, we will have life, peace, and joy. we will also find and have purpose. With the Holy Spirit governing our thoughts, external circumstances do not dictate our responses. If you want to overcome your emotional struggles, change your thoughts. If you seek to be set free from that which holds you hostage, then set your mind on God’s truth and be free.

Stay with us a while

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. Luke 24:28-29

I don't know about you, but at times I find myself uncomfortable with the messiness of life. This is true of relationships with other people, and it is especially true of my relationship with God. I have a high appreciation for order, reverence, process, and clarity. However, when I read the well-known story of Jesus and the disciples on the road to Emmaus, it shakes up my preference for neat and tidy spirituality. The road to Emmaus is a story of messy faith. Jesus enters into a very raw and vulnerable space, and heals people who are filled with doubts and confusion and aren’t even clear on who He is.

It’s easy to miss this fact. We assume by this point in the story they know that it is Jesus walking with them, but that clarity doesn’t come until they share a meal together. Yet even in their confusion, their hearts begin to burn within them, they are coming alive as they spend time with this man, so they “urge him strongly” to stay. I wonder what it might look like for us to urge Jesus to stay with us a little while, even when we lack clarity?

You do not have to have all your questions answered in order to have a meaningful encounter with the Lord. Rather than being troubled by this fact, I’m learning more and more to embrace it and receive it as a gift. When I see the truth in this, it frees me to have and give grace to others, and grace for myself. It is liberating to realize that I don’t have to have it all figured out in order to follow Jesus. In fact, if I’m honest, my heart is often filled with doubts, and uncertainties, and if I wait until they are all gone, I may never actually know the joy of being with Jesus, and experiencing His power, provision, and hand in my life.

Can you be so bold as to invite Jesus into the unruly and uncertain parts of your life? Undoubtedly, you are more aware of these than ever before. Over the past few weeks and months, you’ve likely had to confront your own failure to trust God with your present and your future. You’ve failed to love your spouse, kids, or close friends the way they long to be loved. Maybe you’re wrestling with a general sense of shame and guilt, wondering why you’re not as productive and fruitful as you want to be?

Whatever your struggle may be, it is easy to say “Jesus wants nothing to do with me until I can sort this thing out.” Yet here’s the problem with that line of thinking: Jesus is the only way you’re going to sort it out, so to exclude him from the problem is to remove any hope for a solution! Jesus enters into the messiness of our lives and speaks peace and freedom. And so, like these first disciples, today we boldly pray, “Stay with us a little while”

He cares

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

God cares about you. He cares about your job; He cares about your fears; He cares about your spouse; He cares about your children; He cares about your parents; He cares about your worries; He cares about your finances; He cares about your car and your house; He also cares about your character, and He cares about you caring about Him and caring for others. He is a caring God.

You cannot out-care God. His capacity to care is infinite and his competence to care is matchless. You can care because He cares. There is no care of yours that God does not care about. If it is important to you, then God cares about it. Yes, you will experience misdirected cares, but God’s desire is to come alongside you and realign your cares with what He cares about the most. He cares enough to bear your anxieties and to replace them with His peace and assurance.

When you give God your worries, you in turn, receive His calming presence. God’s system of care is countercultural. God transforms your cares into what He cares about; so cast your cares on Christ. Equally spiritual people may cast their cares on God in polar opposite ways. One may find release in a quiet written prayer, while another may feel cared for by God through raucous worship. Let another’s processing of anxiety be a guide, not a guilty comparison.

“Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall” (Psalm 55:22, NLT).

You know God cares immensely. So how do you cast your cares on Him? By faith, you let Him care. He cares and can be trusted. Therefore, allow Him to do what He does best. You allow Him to care for you. This takes humility on your part. You are acknowledging a desperate need for God. Your declaration of dependence is two-fold. You admit you are anxious, and can’t handle your worry alone.

You submit to the fact that only God can handle this level of concern. Hence, your submission to God allows His care to consume your anxieties. Your care-giving to God is recurring. Over time, He helps bring your feeble faith and misguided mind into focus on Him. What started out as a burden, He transforms into a blessing. Your pain becomes productive.

You become free to care for others because He has freely cared for you. Your perspective takes on a heavenly flavor. Do not wait until matters get worse before you offload on the Lord. Go to God first because He cares the most. Let bad news travel fast because He already knows. An all-caring God cultivates a carefree attitude. The more you allow Him to care about your worries, the less you have to care about. Then you can focus your care on people and eternal issues.

Let God be consumed with your cares so you are not. Then you can lead others to your all-caring Christ. Care for them as Jesus does. Your care will lead to His care. This is the beauty of the circle of care. You do it right, and they will want your God. You care for others, and they will want the God that cares for you. Keep your caring Christ-centered. You care because He cares. You can care because you have let Him care for you. Keep the circle of care rotating.

Do not grow weary of caring; He doesn’t. He cares for you. Therefore, give Him your cares and experience His care. Christ is your number one caregiver.

His table of provision

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:5-6, ESV

I’m reading this verse over and over. God provides for and protects me in full view of my enemies.

For a shepherd, the table was a high plateau, or mesa, where the flock would spend the summer months. It took some preparation and the shepherd would go several times to remove poisonous weeds, clear away rocks, check out water supplies and resting places. The preparation was done with the full knowledge the wild predators were watching the movement of the flock, just waiting for the time to attack.

We are always in danger of attack – something is out to get us. Who among us will not remember COVID 19, or the terms "sheltering in place" or "social distancing." We are being attacked. Our world is under attack.

The word of God refers to Satan as a “roaring lion” always looking for someone to devour. Despite this news, I know a “table” is prepared for us in the presence of our enemy. Oh, the enemy of our soul is real and present, but the feast of God’s presence overpowers any and all attacks. 

You might say it was the daily anointing of oil that slowly healed us. The shepherd would apply oil to the noses of his sheep to keep away a certain, dangerous fly. If this fly was not deterred, the inflammation could cause the animal to go blind or even kill itself by thrashing its head on the ground. I can relate to the sheep here as there were many thrashing days when I needed a double dose of God’s anointing oil.

Staying close to our heavenly Shepherd is the only way to overcome the attacks of the roaring lion. Staying close is the only way to remain at the table and be nurtured by God’s provision.

L.B. Cowan who penned "Streams in the Desert" wrote, “We often pray to be delivered from afflictions, and even trust God that we will be. But we do not pray for Him to make us what we should be while in the midst of the afflictions. Nor, do we pray that we would be able to live within them, for however long they may last, in complete awareness that we are held and sheltered by the Lord and can therefore continue within them without suffering any harm.”

Here’s one more thought…we are all invited to the prepared table because God gave us His only Son. (John 3:16) We have been invited to the feast of His fellowship. And if we receive that fellowship and accept it in gratitude and humility, we then can continue in our afflictions.

May we walk with Christ to the Cross in gratitude for his invitation to the table. God, help us to live within our afflictions, knowing we are sheltered by you. Help us to embrace them, trusting that by doing so, they can be transformed into something that gives you glory.