I was sitting on our sofa this morning looking up some definitions for today's blog when I heard a soft knock on the front door. It was our next-door neighbor. This is the best neighborhood I have ever lived in. She brought over some cookies with a note welcoming us to the neighborhood. She included their telephone number should I need anything. Isn't that sweet? As we stood in the living room talking she looked around and commented at how the owners had remolded nicely. I could tell she wanted a tour so we walked around and looked at the rooms. I appologized for the unkemptness. We still have unopened boxes lying around and the place could use a clean-up. To tell you the truth, I have been laying around and taking it easy this week. We traveled last weekend to Murfreesboro, TN for our daughter's wedding. The weekend was a full and intense one--but highly enjoyable one. When Keevin and I arrived home on Monday afternoon we were both exhasted. Poor Keevin had to go on to work that evening. So needless to say, the house was not touched much. But I hadn't paid much attention to the state of the house untill our neighbor came in.
Well, our spiritual houses get kinda dirty without us noticing untill something causes us to take notice. Some of the things that cause us to notice our dirty spiritual houses are restlessness, sadness, anger, resentment, agitation, etc. Anything that is opposite the list of confidence elements found in Galatians 5:22-23. If those signs and symptoms are not dealt with early on then they become a part of our daily lives and we get used to them. But what can cause us to face reality? A holiday comes along like Valentine's Day and we remember the bitterness we have toward someone who has hurt us. We are upset that we don't have a romantic interest at this time. We don't have the money to celebrate the holiday. Those are a few. What is your complaint about Valentine's Day or other holidays? I want to explain what has happened to you. A memory buried deep in your subconcious has been awakened. The definition of subconcious is occuring with little or no conscious perception on the part of the individual. Unconscious means the sum of all thoughts, impulses, etc. of which the individual is not conscious but which influences the emotions and behavior. The effects of stored bad feelings is a smoldering danger.
This seems way too deep to deal with, doesn't it? I agree but there was a time when I was fed up with feeling boxed in. Do you feel the same? Do you feel stuck in a rut? The word stuck means to be obstructed, detained, puzzled/baffled. It also means to cling, remain and to persevere, embedded and jammed. Did you notice persevere? That's a Bible word. Yes, my friend, it is a Bible word but in this context it is a negative. What might you be holding onto?
Someone in your past may have hurt you, emotionally or physically. It is rightful for you to have felt anger about the situation but holding onto the anger is causing you great harm--not the person who initially hurt you. Someone in your past may have said things to cause you to give up on hope, a future or happiness. You may be overwhelmed by overrun finances and just don't know what to do. Your thinking system is clogged with all of this junk.
So how do we begin to clean up our spiritual houses? God's word gives all the advise we need. John 15:3 (GNT): "You have been made clean already by the teaching I have given you." He is teaching us everything we need to know in order to clean up. The scripture that I love alot is Hebrews 9:14 (GNT): "How much more is accomplished by the blood of Christ! Through the eternal Spirit He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will purify our consciences from usless rituals, so that we may serve the living God." You see God's word and Spirit doesn't work unless we are true believers and followers of Jesus Christ. We learned last week that Jesus loved us so much that He died for us to pay for our sins (remember what happened in the Garden of Eden?--we messed up a perfect thing). In order for us to get back in sinc with God we have to trust that Jesus is who He says He is. By having the Holy Spirit live inside of us we have all sorts of wonderful resources to get ourselves right. Did you notice in that verse that it mentions our consciences and useless rituals? Those are the tapes we wind and rewind in our minds and relive over and over again. What's up with all that junk in our subconicious?
If we had good stuff (God's stuff) enbedded in our subconcious then good behavior and emotions would happen. But as it is you may have bad stuff in there. Remember the pain and hurt that someone caused you in your past? You may be experiencing repressed anger. Repressed means to hold back, restrain. Psychiatry refers to it as: to force (painful ideas, etc) into the subconcious. Humm. To Force. That means going over the event again and again. We unknowingly do it trying to do it over again but it doesn't get a do-over, just a done again. All of this resentment builds and our subconcious seeks an outlet. That outlet leads to hatred. We claim the person as an enemy and feel that revenging the person will make us feel better. An enemy is one who hates and wishes to injure another. As it turns out--you are the enemy--not the other person. You wish to injure the other. The other person may not know that you are hurt by their actions or may have forgotten about the event. Ephesians 4:26 (MSG) says this about anger: "Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry--but don't use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don't stay angry. Don't go to bed angry." Your anger is justified, just not permitted to carry it in your heart forever. We humans hate to forget. I think we feel we are entitled to our rememberances--but it's those memories that cause us to be dirty and diseased. Disease means a particular destructive process in an organism. I believe it fits here. So what do we do with these diseased memories? We forget them. Leviticus 19:18 (NCV): "Forget about the wrong things people do to you, and do not try to get even. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the Lord." I know it's hard to forget, especially when you have played that tape over and over again in your mind. You are ahead of this new game if you started the 21 Day Journal Notes from last week. Have you started, yet? His words are meant to replace those bad, nasty memories. His words create new tapes that you will welcome to be played over and over again.
Now, let's talk about what God says about our enemies. You may have someone who continues to hurt you--often. Matthew 5:44 (MSG): "I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer." After you get over your angry spell (before bed time) go to God and ask Him to help you forgive this person and forget the bad stuff. Then ask God what it is that He wants you to pray for this person. It may be relational healing, certainly salvation and a good relationship with Holy Dad.
But don't think that just because you have forgiven and forgotten about the event that the bad person will get off. Holy Dad will take care of it. He takes the burden off of you so that you can live a great life. Romans 12:19 (NCV): "My friends, do not try to punish others when they wrong you, but wait for God to punish them with His anger. It is written: I will punish those who do wrong; I will repay them, says the Lord."
Holy Dad gives us warnings about not listening to His teachings. 1 Peter 5:8 (NCV): "Control yourselves and be careful! The devil, your enemy, goes around like a roaring lion looking for someone to eat." You see, Satan is the real enemy. It is he who is controling the bad person in your life. And don't allow yourself to be the bad person, too. Ephesians 4:27 (NLT): "For anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil." A foothold is a secure position. Think about it. SECURE. Take the security out of it and give Holy Dad control.
If you find yourself struggling with loyalty toward someone who has been hurt and feeling the need to hate the guilty party, I suggest you talk to Holy Dad and ask Him to take your own guilt-ridden feelings out of the picture and to help you pray for all those involved in the event the way He wants you to.
Now, friend, persevere God's way and not persevere the wrong way!
Jesus' healing and peace to all, Wynndy
