So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 1So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT
Have you ever had the feeling of doing something or being somewhere like you were encountering it for the first time? There is a fancy French word for that called “déjà vu.” Déjà vu in the literal sense means already seen. It makes people feel as if something is being seen or happening for the first time, when it really isn’t.
This happened to me recently in a spiritual sense. As you know, I had a major move in my life last year that caused me some unforeseen emotion. I was excited and adventurous at first. Then I was fearful and anxious. Later on, I became angry and resentful. In the end, I was experiencing full-blown grief.
Little by little, even though trying to walk with God and keep myself afloat spiritually, I was changing. I was sensitive to comments people made. I took things personally when people did not show appreciation for things I did or they didn’t return my call or text. I started complaining more about the little things. I was easily frustrated. I was withdrawn, not talking openly about my troubles. I wrestled internally with a lot of emotion to the point of stuffing my true feelings.
All of that little by little complaining and stuffing led to a big outburst and then a meltdown. I could no longer contain my emotion concerning one incident that recently happened. I blew up and said things in my anger. I feel guilt for blowing up and being critical. I felt pity thinking God doesn’t even love me and why should I even have a relationship with Him. I prayed over my agony of having so much emotion weighing me down and confusing me. Why was I cursed with being such an emotional creature?
Thank God, He provides answers and a way of dealing with it. After all of the emotional drama, I was led to pick up a book on my shelf by Joyce Meyer called Managing Your Emotions.
I remember when I first received that book. I saw the advertisement for it on her TV program. At that time, I was going through depression off and on and seeking healing for my soul. Since I was a stay-at-home mom with no income, I knew I could not buy that book. I remember right at that moment, I prayed that someone would give me the book as a gift. I knew I needed it.
Within a week, I received that book in my hand from someone who was a spiritual mentor in my life at the time. She knew I suffered a great deal in managing my emotions. She had also had her own battle. The book is inscribed by her and dated June 13, 2007. She included two scriptures: Psalm 20:4-5 “May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed. May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the Lord answer all your prayers” and Mark 11: 24 “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.” The gift of this book provided me comfort, relief, and hope.
I picked that book up today and began reading it. It was like I never read this book before in my life. I got to a page where she shared that she got to a point when she didn’t understand why she was an emotional wreck. She heard God say He was going to test her emotions. My light bulb came on- I have been through this emotional storm before! I had already taken this emotional rollercoaster ride at another time in my life. It felt like the first time I was going through this, but it wasn’t. It was déjà vu.
I was never at odds with God, people, or even myself. I was at odds with the sin inside me. It is the grace of God that He makes me right with him.
Now that the revelation has been made, I feel so much peace. I read through the scriptures in Joyce’s book and I bookmarked them on my mobile Bible app. This is my armor for equipping myself against this scheme in the days to come.
I have been reminded that emotions are great when handled properly. When we live for Christ we have to make our emotions obedient to Christ and his desires not ours. I share all of this so that someone else can know that they are not in the battle alone.
Our goal is to get strong, be strong, and help someone else overcome their battle. Be encouraged today, that God loves you and gives you the grace you need to survive the storm. We have already won the battle.
Ephesians 6:12
[ A Fight to the Finish ] And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.