The hurtful and disappointing things people do are among the things that tend to stir up our emotions. Since we cannot control what others do or a lot of the circumstances of our lives, we need to look for ways to quiet our emotions concerning those things. The Bible teaches us to always believe the best of every person (see 1 Cor. 13:7). If we let our thoughts lead us, they usually tend forward negativity. Sadly, the flesh without the infulence of the Holy Spirit is dark and negative. We learn in God’s Word that we have a mind of the flesh and a mind of the Spirit (see Rom. 8:5). If we let the mind of the flesh lead, we will be filled with death-like feelings and attitudes. But if we choose to let the mind of the Spirit lead, we will be filled with life and peace in our souls, and that includes peaceful and calm emotions. I urge you to choose what makes for peace because Jesus has called us to peace. He has left us His peace, but a life of emotional turmoil not only makes us miserable, it can also make us sick. Stress is the root cause of a large percentage of sickness and disease. Disease causes disease!
I realized last year that most of my emotional turmoil comes about through people problems. I knew from my experience that I could not control people and what they decided to do, so I began to pray about what I could do to not allow what they do to upset me. In answer to my prayers and throught study of God’s Word, I started obeying 1 Corinthians 13:7 by choosing to believe the best of everyone.
An employee recently said some very hurtful and potentially damaging things about some of my faimily members and the ministry. The first reaction was shock, then disappointment, then confusion because we could not understand her motive. Finally, anger came. I have made a commitment to peace and I refuese to let my emotions control me, So I acted on what the Word of God says, and I decided to believe the best. I thought, she is hurting from a tragic situation in her own life and she probably is acting out of her own pain. I doubt that she even fully realized the potential impact of her words. I started praying for her, and when people asked me what I thought, I told them I was surprised and didn’t fully understand why she did it, but then I repeated my “thinking the best” idea. I noticed that each time I took that approach, it calmed me down emotionally and had the same effect on other people who were involved.
"I’ve always believed that you can think positive just as well as you can think negative. " Sugar Ray Robinson
I truly believe the Word of God is filled with powerful secrets. They are not things that are hidden, but are definitely things that have been ignored. I have read it for years: “Love always believes the best of every person” (see 1 Cor 13:7). I have followed that advice in obedience to God, but only recently have I realized that thinking the best is equivalent to taking a spiritual nerve pill. Because our thoughts are connected to our emotions when we think good thoughts, we will feel good emotionally.
Even if a person’s motive is terrible, I can still protect myself by believing the best. I am nto reasponsible for another’s actions and motives, but I am responsible for my reaction to that person’s actions. I decided to believe that God was able to work good things out of what appeared to be a bad situation and that made me feel even better. Don’t ever be convinced that you have to be out of control just because you cannot control the people and things around you. Learn to live the interior life instead of the exterior life, and you will enjoy pleasant thoughts and caml emotions.
If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head. Do not let yourself overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with good.
(Romans 12:20-21)
The burning coals that the scripture mentions are not payback for what the enemy had done, they are actually the fire of love you are showing that eventually melts the hardness of your enemy’s heart.
Eventually, the employee I mentioned above resigned, and we decided to go the extra mile and offer a good severance package so she would have time to heal from her own emotional tragedy before she needed to look for a job. We prayed with her and continue to pray for her and trust God to take what Satan wanted to use for harm and work it out for good (see Gen. 50:20).
This biblical secret of believing the best belongs to every child of God. All you need to do is follow God instead of feelings. When you do, the intensity of your feelings will weaken because you are not feeding them with negative thoughts. We have to make the decision while our feelings are still stirred up, but I promise you that they will calm down if you follow God's plan.
God has not left us defenseless in these situations. We are in the world, but He encourages us not to be of it. That means if we will obey Him, then we will be hidden in Him, a place where a thousand can come against us, but we don’t need to fear.
Comment