Encouragement in less than 2-minutes:
Post: How Can you Fix Your Bad Feelings?
I have been known to step into a deep dark place.
It’s a lonely place.
A-no-one-cares-about-me place,
an I’m-never-going-to-amount-to-anything place,
an I-will-always-fail kind of place,
a God-will-never-use-a-girl-like-me place.
I-am-not-worth-anything place.
It’s risky, because this hole of hopelessness can easily become a trapping cave-of-no-return. A cancer that grabs the anesthesia of alcohol, addiction, disorders, complexes, shopping, porn or whatever else if not careful.
Due to my past struggles with this place, I’ve realized,
you have to watch for the invitations to this place of isolation.
Because this place makes you miss Gods’ face – and it leaves you in disgrace.
It makes God small and problems big.
It takes shame and guilt and places them on the centerstage of the heart.
It places you so deep into yourself, you can’t see others that need you.
Our God is not a haunter and taunter and he never developed a hell-hole like this.
Now I know, I have to run like the wind
when the devil starts to lure me in with lies.
I run hard, and I run fast because even the smallest step into that blackness
includes a return trip with miles of internal turmoil.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Ja. 4:7
Sometimes we think our resistance is recognizing this place or praying against this place or throwing some truth out against this place, but oh no, my friends, it involves even more…
We aren’t called to sit around and have a light coffee before we leave,
we are called to flee- ASAP!We aren’t called to go through the motions of life,
but to eyes open and to kick ourselves into high gear.We aren’t called to wait for a rescuer – a knight in shining armor.
We already have one – his name is Jesus – and we are already rescued.
And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. Mt. 5:30
God is not afraid of instructing us to take big measures against our small steps into these dwelling places of lies. This means we see beyond our world, into the transcending world around us. We become aware, looking, understanding, interpreting, searching, fighting and surrendering. We flee.
We flee by not throwing out verses, but by letting them become the knitting of our heart.
We flee, not by praying for our will, but by praying for his.
We flee, not by accepting or excusing sin, but by rejecting it.
We flee, unveiling our heart of agony to our maker. (Feelings aren’t bad, but distrust of God is.)
We flee by choosing the right counselors to instruct us when we become blind in our life.
We flee by letting go of the tide of our emotions, to grab on to the ocean of God’s truth.
We flee by extending grace to ourselves on hard days.
We engrave these truths upon our heart like stone:
We are more than just conquerors in Christ Jesus. Ro. 8:37
Nothing can overtake us, because God has overtaken the world. Jo. 16:33
There is no weapon forged against us that can prosper. Is. 15:47
We know nothing can really ever come against – no cancer, no abuse, no financial issues, no heartache, no agony, no marital issues, no heartaches, no _______.
We know it doesn’t matter,
because if we’ve lived it, he has beaten it.
So, dear friend, be not discouraged, but be wildly encouraged: If he conquered the world, he can conquer your agony, your despair, your hopelessness and your fears.
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WOW! Love Love your video. Good to hear your voice and your sons’s too behind the scenes. HAHAHA! Things don’t usually go perfect but God is perfect!
Thanks for the encouragement today.
Loads of Hugs to you and your family.
Enjoy the rest of your vacation.
Hey Kelly! I’m up early this morning and ready to let Him conquer any fear that might try to creep its way in today! Just a side note: I’m having trouble viewing the video. It may be my tablet, but just thought I’d let you know. I’ll try it again on my laptop and let you know if it works then. Blessings!
Great Kristine! May your day be full of the love of Jesus and your week be filled with joy as he pours out out. I think I have the video all squared away now!
What a perfect start to the week … your smiling face, your keen wisdom, and your son, ready to roll in the background!
Thanks for kicking off the day with a great big smile, Kelly!
Thanks Linda, what sweet words you give me this morning. Thank you for this; it’s an honor to be able to help you start off your week with a smile!
Kelly, I liked that you included all the background “activity” in the video. 🙂 It was fun to hear a child obviously having a good time, but it also added another layer of “real” to what you were saying, and I love that. Thank you this very timely post!
Thanks Lois. I thought that kind of summed up the situation well. Ha! Thanks for letting me know what you thought. I pray God blesses you beyond everything you hope and dream as you continue to trust him. XOXO
Beautiful! I have wrestled with all these feelings at some point, and I’m learning how important it is to immediately take them captive and replace them with God’s truths instead of giving in and “having a light coffee” with them like you said! There’s so much joy to be found in His truths, but we have to claim them to find that joy. Thanks for this encouragement on a Monday morning!
Thank you Lauren! How right you are – we have to take every thought captive. When we do this, we find peace. Linkup with us tomorrow for the #RaRalinkup. It would be a joy to have you.
This was most definitely a must read for me today. It is so important to take our thoughts captive. Praising God for all He is all He does is what I have to do to get out of my stinking thinking. Great post!!!! I love the video too.
Thanks Lisa! I love that – let’s step outside of our stinkin’ thinkin’ and move right into his truth. Thank you for your nice words to me. Much love to you as you listen to the right voice.
So true, we have to adjust our own expectations to what Jesus has planned for us. I was just on a business trip with my husband. I realized after a couple days there, I’d been doing nothing but complaining because so many things had gone wrong. I was mad at myself because I let it get to me. I came walking out and said to him, “I’ve been a grump and I’m stopping this right now. I’m not going to let these things get to me anymore and we will have a good time from here on out.” And we did. It’s all about the attitude and the choices we make.
Kim, sometimes it just happens, despite our best efforts, we fall down. I do feel like so much progress is made when we can correct ourself in process. We remember it for the next time. We are continually learning. The change can often be slow, but he is changing us. Much love to you!
What a delightful and best-ever video! I loved the joy in your voice, the shine of your eyes and the sweet sound of your son. Have a wonderful vacation!
Oh my goodness Pamela! I am overjoyed that you liked it. You never know… 😉 Thank you.
I’ve visited this place too and I will have to say that at one point I even wallowed in the pity I felt there. But it isn’t a place of healthful radiant living and that’s eventually where I wanted to be. Thanks to God’s grace it has been a long time since I was there and I never want to go back. Thanks so much for being real and sharing from your heart. Visiting from The Beauty in His Grip.
It is a bad, bad place. I praise God that you haven’t returned at all. God is good. Thank you so much for your comment.
Hey Kellie!
This post is so timely for me. I’ve recently struggled with some negative thoughts that have tripped me up a bit. I’ve lived through darker places in my past and I don’t ever want to go there again. Your words of insight are so powerful and I praise God for using you to speak truth and life to so many women. God bless!
I praise God for this timely message Lisa. Thank you for your super sweet words to me. I hope you can join us for the linkup today!
Kel, I love you and how God is using you! Loved your video! I’m seriously impressed you were able to keep it together with that adorable distraction going on. I also loved your running post the other day. The question isn’t whether we will fall but what we do afterward. That totally resonated with me. Xxoo
Thank you Christy! You are the best for reading and commenting on my blog. It means so much to me. You have no idea how few family and non-virtual friends actually do that. Thank you for being so dear to me. I can’t wait to see you soon.
A truly beautiful post, Kelly. There are so many quotes in here that touch my heart, I can’t pick a favorite. Thank you for your loving encouragement. And your video was just what I needed to hear today. Bless you!
Thank you Sabra. It is a joy to encourage and I am glad the video was a blessing. I pray today you are resting in the arms of your Savior.