Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Why God? Part III

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

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