To say we have no voice or say in what happens in our lives is an excuse for not surrendering to the Holy Spirit. We do have a voice but it means we are just living by every whim we have and not by God. Galatians 5:16 TPT tells us, "As you yield to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life." This lets us know that our voices will be dynamically powerful or marked by continuous productive activity and change in an energetic way when we make sure we have left behind our desires and cravings which seem to lead us down the wrong paths.
What disappoints you? Is it yourself? Is it circumstances you think you shouldn't have to go through? Is what you think God should have done for you think He didn't? Is it other people giving up on fulfilling their potential? When it comes to our personal failures and disappointments, it is very difficult to deal with. Case in point. when we really want such as to lose weight and try but fail. It's disappointing when it doesn't go as planned. When we hit roadblocks within ourselves it's hard to know what to do.
King David asked God a question I've asked myself many times. "Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again—my Savior and my God!" (Psalms 42:11 NLT). That's what we should do, but many times we don't. The word discouraged means to have lost confidence or enthusiasm, to be disheartened. In modern language that means to be beat down, gloomy, and dismayed. When you are discouraged it's like you have been knocked down and can't get up even after the referee has counted to 10. If you do get up, it's to drag yourself to your bed and stay there. You have no energy.
Is God listening to us when He doesn't answer our prayers like we want? Many times, we talk to God by what we are calling prayer. However, here's what we do. We tell God what we want Him to do. When it doesn't happen like we want it to happen, we wonder if He is really listening? We go to Him with our to-do list and then say, "Ok, talk to You when You've done all that." We had a monologue. Not a dialogue. God is the boss of the universe. We don't tell Him what to do.
How do we know if we really trust Jesus or not? He's the member of the Trinity who is most like us because He knows what it's like to live as a human. If we have a trust issue with Jesus, it will affect our relationship with those we love. Several years ago, I felt like I had a trust issue with Jesus. So, I asked, "Jesus, do I trust you completely?" I sensed there was still hesitancy. So, I asked Him, "When is the first time this mistrust happened?" I asked, "Jesus, is there a wall?" He said, "Yes." "Will you show me?" "Do you really want to see it now?" This time it was His voice speaking. I said, "Yes, of course. I don't want there to be a wall between You and me."
Being prideful is not just an attitude. It's also an emotion God hates. It's the emotion that He wants us to ditch, and He tells us exactly how to do that in His Word. Pride is the foundational emotion on which all other emotions, which lead to sin, are built. Pride says, "I'm number one, the best. I'm the best. No one can measure up to the great me." It is this worship of self that God doesn't like. It can lead to greater sins and is a huge emotion we must deal with on our journeys. To acquiesce to another, whether God or another person, means we must humble ourselves and accept their point of view or suggestion. Many have a hard time doing this. Saying, "You're right" and "I'm wrong" just doesn't seem to be in our vocabularies.
God tells us that we are wonderfully and fearfully made which basically means we were created for a higher purpose, for His purpose. "I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well," (Psalm 139:14 AMP). What does that really mean? Fearfully when translated from the Hebrew means with great reverence, heart-felt interest, and with respect. Wonderfully when translated from the Hebrew means unique and set apart. God created each of us with a higher purpose than we even have knowledge of. It's His secret that He's revealing to us a little at a time until we are able to wrap our brains around the entire enchilada.
Many of us don't know what to do with our emotions so we just try to ignore them. My cure for not feeling my emotions was to overeat foods made with sugar flour. I didn't want to feel my emotions. I was running from my emotions because I was sure I would be crazy if I started to really acknowledge and feel them. God, though, loves to connect with us through our emotions. David is a great example of this as he regularly pours out his heart to God. In Psalms 63:1 TPT he said, "O God of my life, I'm lovesick for You in this weary wilderness. I thirst with the deepest longings to love You more, with cravings in my heart that can't be described."
How can we be as hungry for God as we are for sugary treats and junk food? How can we crave God instead of the things we know we shouldn't be consuming in huge quantities and causing damage to our bodies. By looking at two contrasting stories in the Bible about food, we can get some answers. The first story has to do with Eli the priest and his priestly sons. The sons were taking meat from sacrifices before they were supposed to. They were also doing other evil things. God warned Eli about it and told him if they didn't stop both Eli and his sons would die. God even gave the same message to the boy, Samuel, whom Eli was mentoring, and Samuel told it to Eli.
What should we do when our loving husband brings us our favorite candy and we have committed to not eating sugar? As a Christian weight loss coach, I've heard from many wives who are afraid of hurting his feelings if she tells him she doesn't want that anymore. She's afraid of rocking this love boat they have created. Many times, these are hard-working husbands who come home at the end of the day with a treat for their wives. It's something the husband has been doing for a long time and something the wife has always enjoyed and thanked him for. It filled her love tank to know that her husband was thinking about her and made a special stop just for her.
Follow Up
