Psalm 39
Today we focus on Psalm
39:2-3a.
I was mute
and silent, I refrained even from good, and my sorrow grew worse. My heart was
hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned;
Hiding our Feelings is
Dishonesty with Ourselves and Others.
Previously we learned the dangers of hiding the truth from others and
creating a false testimony. Today we
learn that Hiding the truth from
yourself until it boils from within is not spiritually or physically healthy.
Warning labels should come with all negative feelings or emotions. These
can be extremely dangerous when mishandled.
Emotions are always active.
Churning and building within us they eat away at our peace. Restricted emotions are never stable; they
are intensifying all the time. Anger
becomes bitterness if not expressed, whether resolved or not. Mole hills to mountains is often the
cause of failing to excavate some very strong emotions when they spring up.
Many live with inactive emotional volcanoes boiling inside until they
can no longer hold it in. The pressure
is building but they fear if they ever started expressing what they feel they
could never stop. Grief, anger,
betrayal, frustration, loneliness, and other emotions are churning together in
their hearts. Silence is the worst thing for the mourner or distressed
individual.
The Psalmist well describes the feelings of one in such a place with the
words my sorrow grew worse. My heart was hot within me, while I
was musing the fire burned. He
states that he just keeps internalizing the pain and the fire gets hotter. Have you ever felt this way? It is a miserable experience that affects our
entire life. So, why don’t you talk
about it?
For too many the issue is not what others might think but the fact that
they do not want to face the issue themselves.
It is one thing to feel that my friend has betrayed me; it is another to
confront that friend or actually talk about it.
To speak out loud is to bring it into the experience of my world and I
don’t want it there.
How many around us have fires burning within them? Afraid to speak they feel isolated and alone
in their pain. How many are trapped by
Satan’s lie that no one else would understand or others would no longer respect
us if they knew what was inside?
How many are victims of “What we
don’t talk out, we act out!” and are spewing smoke and ash all over their
world from the fires in their hearts?
Their attitude and behavior are controlled by the pressure from
within. Maybe it is time to get honest
with ourselves about our soul condition...the emotional state of our
heart. Can you face yourself? You bet you can in the presence of God’s love
and grace.
Scripture to Claim
For who among men knows the thoughts
of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except
the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:11
