In the past several years, evangelists, pastors etc. have taught that true Born Again Christians should not operate in Faith based upon their emotions.
A Born Again Christian is to “STAND” on the Word of God by confirming God’s Word back to Him – “just make your daily declarations” – “Confirms God’s Word back to Him” – “Speaking and repeating several times daily those things you desire.” These are their “steps to have a strong “faith-walk.”
As with many of you, there are times (like at this moment) that I lack faith in my “daily declarations and confirmations.”
There are times; I do feel that I am not a Christian, for it is when I have NO control over the current circumstance to deliver myself out of it.
I question myself and God. “am I a true Born Again Christian that is “saved” from the penalty of sin.”
“Am I “connected” to God”?
“Does God reside within me?”
There are times when I began to question rather or not that God is even real when the storms of life challenge peaks. I feel that I am an actor in a slow moving movie. This cannot be real. I will awake any moment now – NOT!
Such as with many other Born Again Christians when the storms of life comes in like a tornado, so many questions begin to flow like river waters tumbling off a cliff, and one finds themselves unable to control the thoughts of questions that are weakening their Faith in the God that one loves.
The tears begin to flow as one tries desperately trying to hold on to their sunken faith during the peaks of life challenges.
The river waters are serene as the Born Again Christian paddle from their riverboat. Suddenly the river waters are no longer serene as the Born Again Christian finds that suddenly the river waters become hasty, and the riverboat is forcefully push through the river. The Born Again Christian is unable to control the riverboat with a paddle. The river waters are too strong and the Born Again Christian finds that he or she is no longer in control of the river waters. The Born Again Christian has no choice but to hope that one’s life is spare from tragedy.
The Born Again Christian thoughts are fighting with seconds of time of choices to make. Does the Born Again Christian stay within the riverboat hoping for safety, or does the Born Again Christian jump into the river waters to swim to the riverbank for safety?
The Born Again Christian’s heart beats rapidly as the river waters increases. The Born Again Christian is not acting on the emotional panic of grasping fear as the riverboat climaxes toward the cliff. In fact, the Born Again Christian thoughts of choices are overshadow.
There is no time to think of choices as the Born Again Christian jumps out of the riverboat to swim to safety. Now, the Born Again Christian is safe while watching the riverboat plunge over the cliff. The riverboat has submerged to the bottom of another river only to arise within minutes of serene river waters again.
Constructed is the riverboat to endure the harshness of river waters, as constructed is faith when enduring life greatest challenges. The riverboat strongly endures the harness panic river waters and submerges as it finds itself floating on top of serene river waters once again. Seen are the riverboat’s scraps and scratches after effects of turbulence. Such as, it is of circumstances of life choices.
Can the Born Again Christian state firmly that the riverboat will keep one safely within the riverboat, as it is toss back and forth until it plunges off the cliff and submerges to the bottom of another river. When each of us producing faith, we too are toss back and forth.
Believing God one moment, but deeper into the life challenge, we begin to doubt whom we are in the Lord. Our emotional fears escape even though we try to suppress them to pretend we are strong in faith.
Yeah right.
The Born Again Christian cannot state firmly the safeness of the riverboat, for the Born Again Christian, with no seconds to think rationally or pray, jumps out of the riverboat. The Born Again Christian witnessed the riverboat plunging off the cliff, but the Born Again Christian is not aware that the riverboat survives and arises to the top of serene river of waters again.
Such as, it is with life challenges. We survive after being submerged, and we arise to the next phase of our faith journey.
Such as with faith, one does not know if he or she will survive a severe life challenge, especially if one is not in control of the severe life’s challenge circumstances. As one focus on the life challenge, one only can see and know that something, anything, must be done to stop the over shadowing of questions and doubts that comes by fear. Fearing is that one will not survive the life challenge.
Fear is a very strong emotion that can teach us or hurt us to the point of death. While faith moves our actions with each step, we take during the life challenge. As a toddler begins to learn how to walk, so it is with each level of our faith development. We conquer each step, but we must fall and get back up. When we get back up, we find our selves standing stronger. We fall and get back up again and again. Each time, we get stronger. Faith is a continue growing process. Faith does not come all at once.
Recently, Joseph Prince, a television evangelist stated, “it is not our faith, but it is the faith of Jesus.” As I think over this comment, I found myself with another spiritual challenge of applying faith to my severe life challenges.
Because I have emotionally chosen to seek answers regarding my circumstances of why God is not answering my prayers right now, I found my thoughts to focus backward to pass sins. I emotionally begin to think that I done something wrong. Knowing Satan is using this life challenge to deceive me into believing that God does not love me anymore, or I begin to question if God really does exists. After 39 years with my faith walk in the Lord, I should know better. Nope, I continue to grow too.
Maybe, I am unaware of the hovering of unforgiveness rooted within my being, so I ask God to please up-root any unforgiveness as I repent. However, I have not healed completely from emotional past and current hurts. Now, I begin to question if the unhealed hurts are unforgiveness that are blocking my hearing from God.
“God, where are you? “
I still have not heard from God, so I call those that I entrust and feel that are spiritually grounded and stronger than I am. Only to find their comments of judging along with confirmation of God’s love for me, I seek God for direction on what to do. I still have not heard from God.
I no longer contact them during this life challenge because I am struggling against my fears. I cannot struggle with their judgments too. As with a tug of war, I am pulling back and forth between fear and faith.
I try to fight my fears with confirmation of reading and praying God’s Word. I have not heard from God, so I fast again and pray for two days and hours during certain days. I turn off the television and I remain in silence to hear from God. I still have not heard from God. Then as the tears flow, again, I question my existence of why am I here?
This is not a pity party. This situation right here and right now is real. I need God’s help now!
A person has no one that will rescue him or her out of his or her life circumstances. As the anxiousness and irritation leaks thoughts of questioning one’s existence – one’s purpose to live, Satan’s deceptions brings hopelessness follow by suicidal thoughts. A person may turn to escape though some type of self-destructive means.
However, a person must subject those evil thoughts, planted by Satan, through the Word of God. A Born Again Christian must rebuke Satan by the “measure of faith” he or she has. It is no longer your faith that you are relying upon, but it is the measuring of faith from God.
When a Born Again Christian finds their selves wondering and hoping at the same time for answers, questions of doubts begin to flow through the tears of fears, so we question God. Forgetting about those who said that we are not to question God and leaning not to our own understanding, but trusting in an unseen God.
At the same time, one becomes anxious and irritated, while the emotional affect begins to hinder our faith in God. The Holy Scriptures does not state that we could not question God. Therefore, I question God again. I want an answer. I need an answer right now. I do not need an answer tomorrow. “God, I need an answer right now from you.”
“Dear God, do you not see my circumstances. Please tell me and show me something – anything, please answer my prayers.”
Here am I questioning God on how am I to trust Him in the midst of my life’s challenges. I have not yet received the outcomes depicted in the Holy Scriptures. I want all the blessings of promises, for I am God’s righteousness. With each life challenge, an outcome successfully achieved. Attached comes the blessing of God’s promise, as a gift of reward.
Then, I see the overflowing of blessings that other “worldly” Christians and sinners receive. I wonder why, being an obedient servant of the Most High God, that I am not receiving the same blessings and more. I question, as the tears still flow: May be I am putting too much seriousness into being a Christian. Maybe, I will do better if I am not obedient as God commanded in the Holy Scriptures. Maybe, I need to be selfish with my giving of funds and material things, so my family and I will no longer be in want of anything. Maybe if I were to be like those worldly Christians and sinners, I would not be in this life circumstance.
Then, I question God again like a nagging spoiled unpleasant child. I ask God am I His – am I saved from the penalty of sin? Just maybe I am “casting my pearls” into hollow ground of which I will not receive a harvest in return.
Then, I ask God “what I did wrong, so I can repent of any wrong doings.
Then, I tell God, “How can I have stronger faith when God you do not tell or show me what to do. After all, God you talked and guided your ancient prophets and servants. God, talk to me.”
Then, I tell God, “How am I to have faith when you do not “grant me the desires of my heart if I delight myself in you.”
“Where are you God?
God, why you are not answering my prayers in the way I want them answered, so I am victorious now.”
How can I be a witness for you, if I do not come out of this life circumstance as a winner – an over comer”
Then, as the thoughts of choices come near, it appears that time has runs out for my circumstances.
While praying, I seek help from an unsaved stranger – a stranger who can “hook me up.” I do this sinful act while trying to justify the act through prayer and hope, ignoring the obvious sin. Why should I not do what the worldly Christians do for they are blessed? All they do is ask for forgiveness. Convincing myself, tired of my circumstances, I want the blessings too. I deserve the blessings, for I have been an obedient servant of the Most High God. I think.
Now, as I begin to see my arrogance, I question where this behavior came from. When then I become so arrogant in my thinking. Have I been arrogant in faith too? This behavior is not of God’s righteousness, but my own righteousness. There are times when our un-discipline emotions deceived us into believing that we are acting in faith.
You see with each life circumstance, a hidden sin or weakness comes forth not to condemn you, but to perfect you in God’s righteousness increasing God’s faith within you.
This stranger provided no documented confirmation. I trust the stranger based upon his word and nothing more. A day later, my action reminds me that I trust in a human beings word, when I felt that I could not trust in God’s Word – the Holy Scriptures. Because God yet has answered my prayers – my declarations each day – my fasting and my prayers, emotionally I acted. I had to do something, for I panic – yes. I panic in fear.
After all, based upon our actions produce the faith (supposedly).
However, what type of faith is operating? Is it faith in us resolving life-challenging problems or having faith trusting that God will deliver us and blessed us too?
Sadden by my sinful actions of self-righteous pride and putting my trust in a human being rather than putting and holding on to trusting God’s word, I ask for forgiveness. However, I still struggle in the midst, so I cannot commit to repentance just yet. I am uncertain of whom I am.
I ask for forgiveness hoping that I have not severed my fellowship with God. I sing praises through the tears. I must fight through the sacrifice of praise when I do not want to praise God.
The final time is approaching. I need to make decisions. Any way my decisions goes, I am uncertain of the consequences. Now, what do I do? Like many others, we begin to fear and panic soon sink into our emotions and then our minds. It is no longer that we operate in faith but fear – trying to hold on to our faith.
Therefore, in our minds, we ask certain questions when we find our human selves back against the wall.
What do I need to do, so I will not go through this again?
God takes away the dependency of our finances, the direct deposit, a paper check, or the dependency of others to prove Him strong and mighty while we feel faint. Some of us do faint, but the situation is still there.
Like so many others, I cry. I scream. I pray. I fast and pray. I pray in spiritual tongues – trying to gain God’s attention. As a child seeking attention, “God I need you, and I feel lost without you.”
Our challenge is to know that God is answering our prayers even when we do not see it – touch it, or feel it.
We must discipline our emotions of when we should jump out of the “riverboat” to secure our own safety or to be safe by trusting God’s faith in the times of our afflictions. We must hold on:
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But Jehovah delivereth him out of them all. Psalms 34:19
We must become like the “riverboat” in our afflictions of life challenges.”
A person cannot possibly ignore their emotions in a time of affliction of life challenges, still hold on to all you know, even through the tears.
There are times that we focus so much on the life circumstance that we fail to see the chastening of God’s love in disciplining us to become stronger in our faith – trusting in Him to deliver us.
As an emotional human being made, it is a very hard thing to do being in this flesh, for those Holy Ghost whippings hurt, as they purge us of our “old selves” to mature us in our faith, so we become blessed in those weaken areas in our lives.
It is funny, it is the life challenge when we find out about our self. We find that we have been holding on to unforgiveness or some ugly character flaw within our self. We deceive our selves into believing that things are cool within us.
Once more, I have been challenge to discipline my emotions and not ignore them when operating in faith. God did not ignore the emotions of our ancient prophets, servants, or our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Just check out the following Holy Scriptures:
“And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, lifts up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, what ails thee, Hagar? Fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.” (Genesis Chapter 21: verses 16-17)
Hannah wept before God for a child (First Samuel: Chapter 1: verses 1-20)
Elijah flees out of fear (First Kings: Chapter 19)
Elisha becomes angry and curses the lads who were teasing him (Second Kings: Chapter 2)
Hezekiah sickness due to his disobedience, but God delivers him (Second Kings: Chapter 20: verses 1-6)
“I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.” (Psalms, Chapter 118: verse 5)
“In the day when I cried thou answered me, and strengthen me with strength in my soul.” (Psalms: Chapter 138: verse 3)
“And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.” (St. Matthews: Chapter 26: verse 75)
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (St. Matthews: Chapter 27: verse 46)
“Jesus Wept” – Lazarus death (St. John 11:11-44)
God does respond to our emotions.
Therefore, my friends operating in faith is emotional.
I say do not ignore your emotions during life challenges.
I say learn to discipline your emotions during life challenges. Knowing that is NOT your faith that is operating, but Jesus’ faith is operating through you.
I say to hold on to Jesus’ Faith, for in our weakness, God is made STRONG.
Let Him work the work.