Listening and Led: Emotions
What we listen to will lead us. What we pay attention to will make an impact on us. What we are preoccupied with will shape us.
Emotions. They’re loaded and confusing – especially for us women. Often, they’re not what we would expect, and they seem uncontrollable. Positive emotions bring so much pleasure, while negative emotions can effectively ruin our day (if we let them). Happiness, sadness, excitement, anger, fear, depression, sympathy… the list goes on.
As a teenager, I mistakenly thought that the way to handle emotions was to suppress them. So I waffled back and forth between denying my feelings and wallowing in them. I thought I had to completely separate my spiritual life from my emotional state.
Yet the other extreme isn’t right, either, and it’s even more tempting – to listen unconditionally to whatever my emotions tell me. I feel sad; therefore, something must be missing from my life. I feel anxious; therefore, God isn’t truly in control. I feel discouraged; therefore, I cannot handle my circumstances. I feel happy; therefore, God is happy with me. I feel guilty; therefore, I must not be forgiven.
Thinking this way means that I am being led by my emotions. But I am not to be led by them. Neither am I to deny their existence. Sometimes my emotions may be right on target; sometimes they can be completely wrong. This is why my emotions must be led by and aligned with truth - specifically, the truth of God’s Word.
Emotion: I feel sad; therefore, something must be missing from my life.
Reality: “You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Ps. 16:11)
Emotion: I feel anxious; therefore, God isn’t truly in control.
Reality: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matt. 10:29-31)
Emotion: I feel discouraged; therefore, I cannot handle my circumstances.
Reality: “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:12-13)
Emotion: I feel happy; therefore, God is happy with me.
Reality: “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My word.” (Isa. 66:2)
Emotion: I feel guilty; therefore, I must not be forgiven.
Reality: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:1)
The secret is to tap into a reality far greater than the seemingly enormous vortex of emotions. It’s like throwing back the drapes and letting the sunlight stream into a darkened room. Better yet, it’s stepping over the threshold from that dark room, into the brightness of the outside world. God does not want His daughters to live locked in prisons of fear, depression, anger, or shallow happiness. His Word holds the truth; His Word is the light that we can hold our dark hearts up to in order to discern what is right. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Gal. 5:1)
Loving the God Who Reprobates
I was so encouraged by what I was reading tonight in the devotional Taste and See by John Piper. He describes a conversation with a woman who had recently learned the Biblical reality that “if God chooses unconditionally who will be rescued from the corruption and condemnation of sin… then He also passes over many and leaves them in sin and truly-deserved condemnation (which is called reprobation).” This woman asked, “How shall I love Him… in His electing and reprobating freedom?”
Part of Piper’s answer is as follows:
It isn’t surprising, is it, that if our mind undergoes a kind of Copernican revolution in regard to the place of God in our intellectual universe, another kind of Copernican revolution in our very experience of the love of God might be required? I don’t think this can be put neatly into words, but my guess is that a supernatural and spiritual God-centered love for God is going to be of such a different kind than the love for God that we experienced before He took His rightful place, that the two will seem almost like opposites.
I don’t think that they are necessarily opposites in those who are truly born of God. A little seedling looks almost opposite to an oak tree, but they are of one piece…
There’s a great deal of trust in the love of God, and a great deal of love in the trust of God. He is of such a kind that what He reveals will always be in part awesome, in part threatening, in part winsome, in part tender, in part severe, and we will find ourselves pulled in many directions as we try to get our heart around Him. And then we cannot begin to stretch that far without breaking, yet trusting still…
Let us tremble that we, for absolutely no cause in ourselves, have been plucked from this horrid condition and have been made to trust Him and have been covered by His infinitely valuable blood so that we will render to Him praise for His mercy forever and ever.
I know that in one sense what I have spoken here are words, words, words. But I am closing with the prayer that the Holy Spirit will come and set them on fire with light and passion and love.
The knowledge of God’s complete sovereignty is deep and soul-swaying. Its mystery is certainly not anything to shrug off, and it cannot be dismissed in mere casual discussion or intellectual assent. It should stir the depths of our hearts. It may shake us to the core. Yet may we trust still. May we praise, and love, and glory in the God who both saves and reprobates.
True Woman
The first annual True Woman conference was held earlier this month in Chicago. With speakers like John Piper, Nancy Leigh DeMoss, and Joni Eareckson Tada, I would’ve loved to have been there. However, I am going to try to make time to listen to all of the messages and read some of the material on the site. The True Woman Manifesto, which you can sign here, was called a “magnificent document” by Piper. It states such truths as…
We are called as women to affirm and encourage men as they seek to express godly masculinity, and to honor and support God-ordained male leadership in the home and in the church.
Selfish insistence on personal rights is contrary to the spirit of Christ who humbled Himself, took on the form of a servant, and laid down His life for us.
I encourage you to listen to and/or read some of the messages along with me. If you are seeking to know more about what it means to live Biblically as a woman in today’s world, the “manifesto” would be a good place to begin.
Changes Ahead
“…When a person speaks or writes or sings or paints about breathtaking truth in a boring way, it is probably a sin.” -John Piper (HT: Beauty from the Heart)
Inconsistent as I have been lately, I still believe that writing (and for this time, blogging) is a calling God has placed on my life. I want to honor that and do my best, instead of churning out entries I haven’t put my heart into. With that in mind, here are a few of the updates I hope to make within the coming days and weeks.
Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls by Mary Pipher is a book I just began to read. I read some of it during college. Pipher analyzes the culture’s influence on young teenage girls from a psychological, secular, feminist perspective. Needless to say, I disagree with many of the conclusions she draws. However, the book is valuable because of its often-piercing insights into this demographic. Pipher wrote it in 1994. I would like to respond to many of its themes from a Christian perspective. I would also like to evaluate the changes that have taken place in the decade-and-a-half since Pipher originally published the book. Feminism and its effect upon culture and Christianity is a subject I find both sad and fascinating.
I also plan to host more question-and-answer entries in the near future, both my questions to you and yours to me.
And in general, I hope to be writing many more entries about the topics that have been good for encouragement and discussion, as well as renewing some of my old series like Soul Sisters. I also want to bring back my book reviews, which I still haven’t gotten around to editing, and begin posting new ones again.
Finally, if you have e-mailed me recently and I haven’t responded, I apologize. E-mail is another thing I have been slacking on, so pardon my negligence! I will be working on catching up with that as well.
In the meantime, enjoy the weekend. I am going out of town for the next couple of days, so you can probably expect a new entry Sunday evening or Monday. Thanks for reading; “see” you then. 
Safety in the Will of God
Daily Light for October 13, evening:
“This is the will of God, your sanctification.” (1 Thess. 4:3)
“So as to live for the rest of the time no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:2)
“Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth… Therefore put away all filthiness.” (James 1:18, 21)
“Jesus said… ‘Whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:34-35)
“Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” (Matt. 7:24-25)
“The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:17)
How can I be in the will of God? By being obedient to His revealed will in Scripture… being set apart for Him and His purposes and glory instead of my own. (A video I was watching on Radical Womanhood included the phrase, “Do you want to live obsessed with your own glory, or obsessed with the glory of God?”) Not living for myself, living for Him. Knowing that my life is not my own and that He has the charge of me, and I have the charge of following His words. It’s not easy or “natural” – ask those I live and work with! But ultimately, the will of God is the best and safest place to be. There I need have no cares or anxieties, for sin is my only burden and it must decrease while He increases. Let it be so…
Writing? What’s that?
Greetings, dear readers… your oft-absent blogging friend still lives. I’ve been lazy with it lately. So different than when I was in college, cranking out papers and assignments left and right, procrastinating by reading blogs, and feeling the itch to write for any reason other than schoolwork. Oh, and I had all those spare minutes before class was about to start (and during class *cough*) to write entries. It’s a little different now that I’m working full-time and finding the evenings barely long enough without trying to keep up with writing. Okay, I’m out of excuses; truth is, writing is a little like exercising – the longer you go without doing it, the harder it is to pick it up and get right into a routine. But there’s a flip side to that too – the more you stretch your writing muscles, so to speak, the quicker they are to jump into action when you’re ready to use them. So therefore, I don’t really know what to write about, but I’m going to write anyway, and hopefully will rediscover my enthusiasm for the lost art!
Fall is always such a busy time. This is the first fall in four years I’m not in college, and I’m enjoying it. Everything seems different, of course, but it’s not bad. Goodness, just looking at the beautiful foliage could keep me occupied for hours. I dislike the fact that spring and fall are so comparatively brief. I feel like I can’t absorb them enough or something. I’m excited about an eternity of enjoying the beauty of God’s creation without ever running out of time.
I spend my days trying to corral approximately seventeen sweet and ornery preschoolers – a job that is not for the faint of heart, let me tell you. I find myself tested in patience moment by moment. Working in a daycare is a good way to understand the culture. I know that sounds strange to say, but hear me out… I heard in a sermon or something recently that you can truly measure the lack of discipline in a society by the behavior of its children, and that is so true with kids today. Kids today… Anyway, I was just talking to my cooperating teacher about this the other day – she has 25+ years of experience, and she says behavior has become so much worse even over the last 10 years. Children are indulged, left to be wild and disobedient, and taught that they are the center of the universe, and watching that play out in a crowded classroom is not always very pleasant. However, it is also a privilege to be able to influence the lives of these little ones; I hope that I can be a teacher with a mixture of grace, kindness, and firmness; this takes wisdom that does not come from me, believe me.
Whenever I feel like posting lately, it’s usually one of two things – either I want to say something reflective about Christian life, something God has been teaching me; or I want to talk about teaching kids. I really feel like a mother of preschoolers so many days; although I realize it’s not quite the same. So I feel like my posting has been somewhat limited in focus lately. If there’s anything you’d like to see me write about that I haven’t in awhile or that you’re wondering about, feel free to let me know.
Meanwhile, I’m going to finish enjoying this beautiful Sunday afternoon. Thanks for reading!
Far More Abundantly
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Before he writes this benediction at the end of his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul repeats a petition he makes for the believers there and everywhere. In his prayer, he asks God to give his brothers and sisters
- strength in power through His Spirit
- the dwelling of Christ in their hearts through faith
- rooting and grounding in love
- comprehension and personal knowledge of the love of Christ
- filling of all the fullness of God
It is after making all of these requests that Paul reminds his readers that their God is the one who can do “far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.”
I am reminded again how small my faith is. I don’t mean for more earthly blessings. I mean spiritual blessings, of the sort that Paul was writing about. I feel like I can’t reach out for those things, that they are too infinite and faraway for me to grasp in my sinfulness and everyday life. But He is able to do far more abundantly than I could ask. I want to approach Him with confidence, knowing that His blood has cleansed me, asking to be shown His glory and love.
A Puritan Prayer
O God, may Thy Spirit speak in me that I may speak to thee. I have no merit, let the merit of Jesus stand for me. I am undeserving, but I look to Thy tender mercy. I am full of infirmities, wants, sin; Thou art full of grace.
I confess my sin, my frequent sin, my wilful sin; all my powers of body and soul are defiled: a fountain of pollution is deep within my nature. There are chambers of foul images within my being; I have gone from one odious room to another, walked in a no-man’s-land of dangerous imaginations, pried into the secrets of my fallen nature.
I am utterly ashamed that I am what I am in myself; I have no green shoot in me nor fruit, but thorns and thistles; I am a fading leaf that the wind drives away; I live bare and barren as a winter tree, unprofitable, fit to be hewn down and burnt. Lord, dost Thou have mercy on me?
Thou hast struck a heavy blow at my pride, at the false god of self, and I lie in pieces before Thee. But Thou hast given me another master and lord, Thy Son, Jesus, and now my heart is turned towards holiness, my life speeds as an arrow from a bow towards complete obedience to Thee. Help me in all my doings to put down sin and to humble pride. Save me from the love of the world and the pride of life, from everything that is natural to fallen man, and let Christ’s nature be seen in me day by day. Grant me grace to bear Thy will without repining, and delight to be not only chiselled, squared, or fashioned, but separated from the old rock where I have been embedded so long, and lifted from the quarry to the upper air, where I may be built in Christ for ever.
(Puritan Prayers: Heart Corruption)
Update coming soon
I’ll write something later today hopefully… just wanted to send out a quick update that yes, I am still alive and so is my blog. So check back soon!
