"I don't feel like anybody cares about me."
"This feels wrong."
"This feels great!"
"I feel hopeless."
"I feel like doing this."
I just don't feel like doing this."
The problem with emotions is that they feel so real! But if we allow our emotions to dictate our thinking and behavior we will never achieve a better situation than we're in right now. Emotions are fueled by thinking and behavior. So if you start living according to your current-emotion you will invariably be in a cycle that makes everything worse. It's a cycle of death. You must PURPOSEFULLY force your death cycle to become a cycle of life. The ONLY way to do this is by engaging in a life of FAITH.
Every individual in scripture who failed to achieve their potential, failed because they relied more on their FEELINGS than FAITH. YOU CAN'T HAVE A TESTIMONY WITHOUT A TEST! So, of course your going to walk through the valley of the shadow of death! Of course you're going to have to sit at tables in the presence of people who hate you! Why are we shocked when life goes south?! From my own valleys & fiery trials I have learned I can go to my HEIGHT of disgusting arrogance by asking, "Why me?"
Really?! "Why me?"
As apposed to WHO?! I've asked myself why I think I'm too good to carry burdens. I've confronted my thinking about who exactly would I prefer to walk through this valley instead of myself.
What cruelty is built in us that we'd prefer to give our pain to another? What sinful pride, that we would think we didn't "deserve" this test.
WE MUST STOP. CEASE. DESIST. This type of emotional-driven living is not only sinful, it's also the chain that locks us into remaining in the wilderness.
Another death cycle temptation is to accept defeat. Allowing feelings of despondency to make us think life will never get better. When we decide to be satisfied and settled in the valley, we will not scale to the mountain-top experience God intends for us.
We must walk through every moment of the day by faithfully RELYING on God & NOT by how each moment feels.
If you are connected to me on the social networks, you know that every hour I post something about a "happy habit." That happy habit is how I broke my own death cycle. After separation and divorce, depression, perpetual sickness that stemmed from the thinking and behaviors of the death cycle, I was accepting both defeat AND bitterness. THANK GOD FOR HIS MERCY!! I began to read, study and research God's plan for living an overcomer's life.
An overcomer is not one who doesn't have valleys, heartache, betrayal, trials, etc. An overcomer is ONE WHO OVERCOMES THEM!! And guess what, they invariably get something else they overcome!
Point to EVERY biblical hero, and you will be pointing to this overcoming life-cycle.
They didn't get one inch through their difficulty relying on the feelings of the moment. They overcame "by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony!"
Herein lies your formula for a life-cycle of victory:
1. Relying on God's power (blood of the Lamb.)
2. Speak life (word of testimony.)
Don't rely on the disturbance you may feel. Don't rely on the calamity you are currently experiencing. It is what it is. Fix the parts that God has put in your power to fix. Then EVERYTHING ELSE must be approached spiritually. You MUST face every fear, every anxiety, every sadness, and every anger with the thinking and behavior of FAITH.
Last night I put myself into a position to have a deep, peaceful, good night's sleep by recording, and then listening to these passages of scripture that remind me HE is the author of my life's story. It's ALWAYS awesome to be a character in God's stories because he writes every line with the intention of showing HIS glory and power. Consequently, if you surrender yourself to be one of his characters, YOU PARTAKE IN HIS GLORY AND POWER!!
Surrendering to RELIANCE on God is absolutely an infallible plan.
Thanks for reading!
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