Pathways Through Grief” met tonight and we talked about our feelings and how we can overcome the negative feelings we have from our grief and our lives. Yesterday I went to my mother in laws 90th birthday party and I missed Mary, I felt lost without her at my side and I felt bad for her because she wasn’t there to help her mom celebrate but also she didn’t get to see our great nephew who got in his mom’s purse and paint his face with her lipstick. I forgot to keep my faith strong and feel blessed that I had Mary for 23 years and 2 days as my wife and that I was blessed to share the day with Mary’s family, realizing that I will get to spend eternity with Mary in Heaven. We all talked about how we should focus on our blessing and hold on to God’s word that will enable us to keep our faith strong. Our treat was cookies!!! A Gospel-centered explanation of feelings (part two) Listen to your heart Yesterday I wrote about how feelings are like a stethoscope. Just as a stethoscope can show what’s happening with my heart, feelings can show what’s happening with my faith. The reason this is true is because there is a cause-effect relationship between what I’m trusting and what I’m feeling. Faith in Christ brings peace and joy When I am trusting all that God promises to be to me in Christ Jesus, the result is that I will feel peace and joy in Christ. Which means that when I am not feeling peace and joy in Christ, there’s a problem with my faith — I’m not trusting God’s promises, and I am trusting the world’s lies. So yesterday we looked at what’s happening in my faith when I’m feeling jealous, bored, impatient, and discouraged. And today I want to look at a few more – What’s going on in my heart when I’m feeling angry? • I’m trusting the lie that what happened has cost me permanent loss. • I’m not trusting God’s promise that what others meant for harm He means for good — especially the greatest good of even more joy in Himself (Gen 50:20; Rom 8:28-30; 2Cor 4:16-18). What’s going on in my heart when I’m feeling boastful? • I’m trusting the lie that what I’ve done was ultimately my own doing and displays my superiority. • I’m not trusting God’s promise that anything good I’ve done was a gift given to me by God’s grace alone, bought through Jesus’ agony on the Cross, and that God alone has any superiority (1Cor 1:28-30; 1Cor 4:7; 1Cor 15:10). What’s going on in my heart when I’m feeling fearful or worried or anxious? • I’m trusting the lie that there is something in my future that will devastate me. • I’m not trusting God’s promise that He will give me everything I need (Mat 6:33; James 1:5; Phil 4:19; 2Cor 8:9), and that every trial will bring me even more joy — either the joy of watching God deliver me from the trial — or the joy of His nearness sustaining me in the trial (Psa 50:15; 1Pet 4:12-13; Rom 8:13). What’s going on in my heart when I’m desiring something else more than Christ? • I’m trusting the lie that to be fully satisfied I need more money, fame, a job, or a promotion. • I’m not trusting the promise that it’s in God’s presence that there is fulness of joy forever (Psa 16:11). What’s going on in my heart when I’m feeling disappointed? • I’m trusting the lie that my joy depends on something that did not happen. • I’m not trusting the promise that every seeming disappointment is a gift of even more of the greatest joy — the joy of Christ (2Cor 4:16-18; 1Pe 1:6-7). What’s going on in my heart when I’m feeling discontent? • I’m trusting the lie that there’s something I don’t have that I need in order to be fulfilled. • I’m not trusting the promise that Jesus Christ Himself is all I need for my heart to be filled to overflowing (John 4:13-14; John 6:35; John 7:37-39). What’s going on in my heart when I’m feeling vengeful and unforgiving? • I’m trusting the lie that the pain someone caused gives me the right to hold it against them. • I’m not trusting the promise that the joy I have in Christ will soothe every pain (Matt 18:24,28), and that what I rightly deserve is eternal punishment (Mat 18:32-35). How can these feelings change? So we’ve unpacked what’s behind these feelings — but how can I change these feelings? God will change them, by the power of His Spirit, when we • humble ourselves before Him, • cling to Christ as our only righteousness • confess our unbelief • ask for the heart-changing power of His Spirit • turn our hearts from the lies we’ve been trusting • set our hearts on the promises we need to trust • pray over those promises until we feel the Spirit changing our hearts, giving us faith, and satisfying us with a taste of Jesus’ presence. The faith-joy connection An “a-hah!” moment A while back I had an “a-hah!” moment — noticing that many Scriptures show a cause-effect relationship between faith and joy. Here’s some examples – Psa 13:5 — “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.” Have trusted — shall rejoice. That’s cause-effect. Psa 21:6-7 — “… you make him glad with the joy of your presence. For [or because] the king trusts in the LORD.” The reason for the king’s joy is because he trusts in the Lord. Cause-effect. Psa 33:21 — “For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.” We have glad hearts because we trust in his holy name. Cause-effect. Rom 15:13 — “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.” Through believing God fills our hearts with joy. Cause-effect. 1Pet 1:8 — “… though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible …” (NAS translation.) What causes inexpressible joy in Christ is believing in Him. Cause – effect. (If you have found other examples — let me know.) What difference this makes Faith is the cause. Joy is the result. This discovery transformed my Christian life — as recently as Sunday. An hour before worship on Sunday I was gripped by fear that we were going to have a low turnout. No particular reason. Just one of those irrational, strange fears that grips me from time to time. I don’t like feeling fear. And I know God commands that I not fear (Isa 41:10). But what can I do? Here’s where understanding the faith — joy connection helps. Since faith in Christ results in joy in Christ, the fact that I lacked joy in Christ showed there was a problem in my faith. And as I searched my heart — I saw the problem. To my shame, at that moment what felt most joyful to me was not knowing Christ — it was having a full church. Which shows that at that moment I was trusting — not Christ — but church attendance to satisfy me. The fight of faith I can’t turn fear and joy on and off by will-power. But by God’s grace I can turn from trusting attendance as my joy, to trusting Christ as my joy. So that’s what I did. I was alone in a back room of the school our church meets in. And I prayed. I turned to Christ and confessed my sinful trust in attendance. I asked Him to forgive me for thinking attendance would satisfy me more than He would. I asked him to “create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me” (Psa 51:10). I asked Him to help me see and love His power, mercy, sovereignty, and goodness. I asked Him to help my unbelief (Mark 9:24). And I set my heart prayerfully on the truth of who He is — praising Him, thanking Him, worshiping Him, beholding Him. And slowly — the fear diminished. Slowly — I felt the Holy Spirit changing my heart so I felt love for Christ, joy in Christ, hope in Christ. By the time worship started the fear was gone. I saw — and felt — that having Jesus was everything. (And by God’s grace we had a powerful — and larger-than-usual gathering.) Some take-aways Here’s some implications of the cause-effect relationship between faith in Christ and joy in Christ – • I must not live on the basis of emotions. But I also must not ignore emotions — because emotions show what I am trusting. Whatever I desire the most, or worry about losing the most, is what I am trusting the most. • I never need to settle for lack of joy in Christ. If I will prayerfully fight the fight of faith, the Holy Spirit will restore the joy of salvation. • I must never settle for lack of joy in Christ — because lack of joy shows there’s a problem with my faith. It either shows I am not trusting Jesus to satisfy me, or I am trusting something else to satisfy me.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 02:09:10 +0000
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