It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit these, do we squander the hours that might have been worth while. But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. We found that it is fatal. For when harboring such feelings we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to die.
If we were to live, we had to be free of anger. The grouch and the brainstorm were not for us. They may be the dubious luxury of normal men, but for alcoholics these things are poison. (AA, pg 66)
No, we do not have to be free of anger.
We are not blessed by God, we do not receive His grace and peace in our lives, nor do we walk in His goodness because of our feelings, or our lack of feelings.
Ridiculous nonsense!
Consider Cain in the Old Testament:
"8And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him." (Genesis 4: 8)
The first murder was a result of failed religion, that man's efforts cannot please or appease God.
Yet God did not stop talking to Cain:
"9And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper" (Genesis 4: 9)
Even when God pronounced a curse against the first murder, God responded with grace (since Jesus would absorb Cain's sins as well as the sins of the entire world - 1 John 2: 2)
God even blessed Cain with protection, as soon as he relented from his pride and admitted that he could not survive in a hostile word (4: 15)
The nature of God is to bless us, in spite of not because of ourselves:
"It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not." (Lamentations 3: 22)
Keep in mind that Jeremiah penned this accurate portrayal of God, in spite of the fact that Jerusalem had been wasted and the remaining Israelites carried off to Babylon.
God enacted the part of the Old Covenant which required judgment and condemnation for the Israelites when they refused to honor their part, the Ten Commandments and all the rest, which no one can keep.
Paul writes to the Roman:
"Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" (Romans 2: 4)
We are not blessed because of our goodness, but because of His goodness, and His goodness is based on the grace of God, demonstrated at the Cross and flowing into every believer:
"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:" (2 Corinthians 9: 8)
With this poor understanding of emotions, I misread this verse, which had brought me into bondage, only because I had misread them:
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." (Isaiah 26: 3)
I kept thinking that I had to make sure that my mind was stayed or rested so that God would keep me in perfect peace. Hence, I endured a great deal of emotional turmoil in my life, convinced that how I felt, or did not feel, determined whether God was with me or not, or whether I was hearing properly from Him or not.
Having looked at the Hebrews, I am convinced that the verse may read:
You keep the mind rested in perfect peace because He trusts in You!
It's all about Him, not us!
Then there's this verse:
"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." (3 John 2)
I have written in prior posts that our soul prosperity depends not on our feelings first and foremost, but rather that we are walking in the truth that our sins are all put away, that we walk in the truth of the Gospel (Galatians 2: 4, 14).
All our sins are forgiven, and God Himself has pledged that He will never leave us nor forsake us.
For too long, I had believed that how I felt determined whether God was with me or not. Yet He already lives in me, and any emotional upset which I may face cannot bring me into any bondage, or separate me from His love and grace (Romans 8: 38-39)
Emotions of any kind, even anger, do not separate us from Him, nor do they mar our prosperity within or without In fact, our insistence on feeling or thinking certain way causes us to fall from grace and try to earn what God so freely gives, and which we can only receive by faith!
I am so grateful for the grace of God, which I receive through Christ Jesus. I understand now more than ever why I faced so many challenges in this life, particularly in my emotions.
The nature of God is to bless us, in spite of not because of ourselves:
"It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not." (Lamentations 3: 22)
Keep in mind that Jeremiah penned this accurate portrayal of God, in spite of the fact that Jerusalem had been wasted and the remaining Israelites carried off to Babylon.
God enacted the part of the Old Covenant which required judgment and condemnation for the Israelites when they refused to honor their part, the Ten Commandments and all the rest, which no one can keep.
Paul writes to the Roman:
"Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" (Romans 2: 4)
We are not blessed because of our goodness, but because of His goodness, and His goodness is based on the grace of God, demonstrated at the Cross and flowing into every believer:
"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:" (2 Corinthians 9: 8)
With this poor understanding of emotions, I misread this verse, which had brought me into bondage, only because I had misread them:
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." (Isaiah 26: 3)
I kept thinking that I had to make sure that my mind was stayed or rested so that God would keep me in perfect peace. Hence, I endured a great deal of emotional turmoil in my life, convinced that how I felt, or did not feel, determined whether God was with me or not, or whether I was hearing properly from Him or not.
Having looked at the Hebrews, I am convinced that the verse may read:
You keep the mind rested in perfect peace because He trusts in You!
It's all about Him, not us!
Then there's this verse:
"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." (3 John 2)
I have written in prior posts that our soul prosperity depends not on our feelings first and foremost, but rather that we are walking in the truth that our sins are all put away, that we walk in the truth of the Gospel (Galatians 2: 4, 14).
All our sins are forgiven, and God Himself has pledged that He will never leave us nor forsake us.
For too long, I had believed that how I felt determined whether God was with me or not. Yet He already lives in me, and any emotional upset which I may face cannot bring me into any bondage, or separate me from His love and grace (Romans 8: 38-39)
Emotions of any kind, even anger, do not separate us from Him, nor do they mar our prosperity within or without In fact, our insistence on feeling or thinking certain way causes us to fall from grace and try to earn what God so freely gives, and which we can only receive by faith!
I am so grateful for the grace of God, which I receive through Christ Jesus. I understand now more than ever why I faced so many challenges in this life, particularly in my emotions.
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