{"id":20843,"date":"2022-04-01T15:07:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T15:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gamic.dv.themerex.net\/?p=20843"},"modified":"2023-05-24T00:37:33","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T00:37:33","slug":"overcome-grief-with-his-love-and-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo25.mystagingserver.site\/alignwithgod\/overcome-grief-with-his-love-and-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Inviting God into our Emotions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever felt an emotion that was so consuming or intense that it actually pushed you away from God for a time?  It may have been anger or pain, grief or shame, sadness or anxiety, fear or even extreme joy.  We tend to hear that we should \u201cgive our emotions to God\u201d when we\u2019re feeling something deeply.  But is that what God wants us to do?  Let\u2019s take a closer look.  <\/p>

Just recently, I felt overwhelmed with grief.  My older brother had passed away recently.  It was unexpected, and afterwards I felt such acute grief that I felt cut off from the world and from myself.  I simply lost hope in God\u2019s ability to comfort me.  I felt stuck in hopeless despair and very alone. We can feel this way with any issue in our lives.  It can happen with big and with small things, regardless of their intensity.  I told my husband how I was feeling and he graciously offered to walk me through \u201cImmanuel prayer\u201d, a type of prayer that invites God into an issue to see where He is in that moment and how He wants to be with you in the present moment. Since He is omnipresent, I was then able to attune to His presence and experience that God was truly happy to be with me, right in the middle of my hopelessness. It took the cutting edge away just knowing that God wasn\u2019t going anywhere, and I wasn\u2019t alone.  It was me that had wanted to push Him away. <\/p>

This issue of inviting God into an emotion, to be with us in it, is different than \u201cgiving Him our emotions.\u201d  He\u2019s already with us, so really we don\u2019t have to invite Him into the emotion. But sometimes it helps to talk to Him in a way that works for us. It may be just quieting, and noticing His presence. It may be just asking Him if He understands how hard this is for us. It may be saying, \u201cTake this, I cannot handle this anymore\u201d. As we give all of our burdens to Him, He promises to sustain us. (Psalm 55:22).<\/p>

Psalm 55<\/strong>: 22<\/strong> Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.\u201d<\/p>

What is interesting is that the word \u201csustain\u201d in this passage means to abide with, to nourish, support and maintain.  We no longer feel burdened if we know someone or God truly wants to be with us, right in the middle of our emotion.  We only feel burdened when we have an emotion that we don\u2019t feel we can share with anyone or with God. Whether that is true or not, if we believe it is, we end up feeling alone in it. All we really need to know in order to lift that burden, is that someone or God is happy to be with us and to share that emotion.  <\/p>

God\u2019s promises<\/strong>: One thing I learned during the loss of my brother is that there isn\u2019t one emotion that God does not want to feel with us, and there isn\u2019t one problem that He doesn\u2019t also have a provision for. He actually enjoys experiencing it with us! <\/p>

\u201cYou hear O Lord, the desire of the afflicted, you strengthen his heart and you listen attentively\u201d. (Psalm 10:17)<\/em><\/p>

Picture when your child or niece or sibling took their first steps.  Even if they fell and cried, you were excited just to cheer them on, and then hold them for a bit before putting them on their feet again for another try.  The tears were a part of the struggle and you were just glad to be with them in it.  That is how God is with us.  He wants to experience you in all your emotions.  He wants to walk alongside you, and let you find the victory in the struggle, knowing that He is there for you.  He is simply elated to go through these steps with you, even though you may have to struggle and fall, as you learn to walk with Him.  Soon you will be dancing and leaping and doing summersaults with Him, but right now we are learning the basics.  <\/p>

Exercise:<\/strong>  In this next exercise we will combine a few of the God Chat basics that we\u2019ve learned in previous blogs to help you continue your practice, this time inviting  God into an emotion of your own. If you are new to God Chat, this will serve as a brief review of the core concepts.  <\/p>

1)  Quiet yourself by allowing your mind to be still and breathe deeply.  With every breath, allow God\u2019s presence to expand within you. Notice what that feels like.  Close your eyes and do this for at least 2-3 minutes if not more.  Take your time. Wait until your mind is able to bring itself back to your breathing or God\u2019s presence whenever it wanders.  Wait until you notice where in your body you feel a sense of deeper relaxation.  If you need to you can put on some instrumental music.  (Some people prefer to move or pace while quieting).  <\/p>

2)  Whisper something you are grateful for to God (this turns on your relational connectors in your brain).  Go into some details about what it is.  if you can\u2019t think of  anything, go back to the quieting or ask God to bring something to mind.  If it feels peaceful, elaborate on this until you feel a truly grateful feeling, and you can notice where you feel this in your body (You may feel more relaxed, your shoulders are less tight, or your stomach feels warm.) Bear with this awhile as it takes practice, but body awareness is one of the best indicators that your relational circuits are \u201cfiring\u201d in your brain, which makes it easier to connect with God or others.  <\/p>

3)  Ask God to show you a situation and an emotion that you felt this past week or two,  where you experienced being burdened, overwhelmed, or alone.  When you get the situation and the emotion, write it below.  (It may be more than one emotion, write down however many come to mind).  If you cannot get a situation or if you feel immediately disconnected from God after getting it, simply say out loud, \u201cWhenever I\u2019m afraid, I trust in you Oh, God\u201d several times out loud.  <\/p>


If you cannot narrow the emotion(s) down, try to see which of the following emotions it resembled the most:  mad, sad, fear, shame, disgust, hopeless despair, joy.   <\/strong><\/p>

Situation:<\/strong><\/p>

Emotions:  <\/strong><\/p>

Calming statement: End this section by saying out loud, \u201cWhenever I am ____________(the emotion), I trust in you, O God\u201d.  Quiet yourself and take another breath.  Return to your gratitude for a moment.  Then proceed.    <\/strong><\/p>

4)  Invite God into your emotion:<\/strong>  Ask Him to show you where He was in this emotion or His perspective on the situation.  You can ask Him, \u201cHow did you see this God?\u201d  or \u201cGod where were you in this situation?\u201d or \u201cWhat do you have for me regarding this emotion?\u201d  Be still and He will show you.  Pray that you will be able to discern His guidance.  Write down what you get, and don\u2019t filter or wonder if it is really God you are hearing.  You can check this against the filter checks later.  (See filter checks in resources). Simply write down the first things that come to mind, remembering that you are synchronizing your mind with His.   <\/p>

God\u2019s perspective:<\/strong>  <\/p>

Emotion: <\/strong> (write down your emotion after hearing God\u2019s perspective).   <\/p>

5)  If your emotion is not greater peace, keep going back to the calming statement on the top of page 3, and repeating it, proceeding again with step 4 until you come to a place of peace. God is listening and wants to hear you.  You can a also ask, what do I need in order to have more peace?<\/p>

 \u201cYou hear O Lord, the desire of the afflicted, you strengthen his heart and you listen attentively\u201d. (Psalm 10:17).  <\/p>

6)  Always end with gratitude for what you\u2019ve experienced and let God know your \u201cTake-Aways\u201d from this exercise, and what you want Him to help you with this week. <\/p>

Enjoy the next few weeks practicing these principles of inviting God into your emotions and situations to gain His perspective. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Happy God Chatting!  Remember God loves to laugh, cry and emote with you!<\/em><\/p>

Denice Mackenzie  <\/p>

May 5, 2019<\/p>

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