Angry

Emotion Gone Wild

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

We were not meant to be slaves

to our emotions

 

but rather

 

surrenders of those emotions,

subjecting them to God’s authority

 

These raw and beautiful feelings

are an important part of experiencing life

 

and they are one of God’s gifts

to our hearts

 

but they are not meat to rule

our minds

 

Sadness

happiness

joy

anger…

 

they all express

life here in this

broken

and beautiful

world

 

And we aren’t to look at them

as bad

 

when the negative emotions come,

 

but allowing them to rule

in a dominant way

 

 

makes us out to be

victims

out-of-control

helpless….

 

and

we

are

NOT

 

We, my brothers and sisters,

are Holy Spirit influenced

 

and not emotion driven

 

Our feelings and emotions allow expression

but they are not in charge

 

of who we are

 

We take feelings that threaten to overtake us

into captivity by His Divine mind

and heart

 

and we rest

and submit

and offer

 

every bit of ourselves,

which includes emotion,

 

to HIM

 

We are not meant to stay stuck

in anger

or sadness

or worry

or even grief

 

but are meant to experience

unexplainable peace

 

when they threaten

to overtake

 

We allow the emotion to express,

but not take us over

 

and certainly not cause us

to sin

 

Surrendered emotion

under God’s authority,

 

captive to His love, joy, and peace

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

A fool expresses all his emotions, but a wise person controls them.

– Proverbs 29:11 (GW)

 

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

–  Philippians 4:6,7 (NLT)

 

Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind. As a result, you will be able to discern what God wills and whatever God finds good, pleasing, and complete.

– Romans 12:2 (VOICE)

 

A time to cry, a time to laugh; a time to mourn, a time to dance;

– Ecclesiastes 3:4 (VOICE)

 

Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.

– Ephesians 4:26,27 (MSG)

 

You see, God did not give us a cowardly spirit but a powerful, loving, and disciplined spirit.

– 2 Timothy 1:7 (VOICE)

 

Jesus wept.

– John 11:35 (NIV)

 

…we take every thought captive so that it is obedient to Christ.

– 2 Corinthians 10:5 (GW)

 

Photo by Gracie Oertli

 

 

Love Is Not Easily Angered

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Love is not easily angered…

– 1 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV)

 

The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

– Psalm 103:8 (NLT)

 

Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.

– Thomas a Kempis

 

Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

– James 1:20 (NLT)

 

There is nothing that so much gratifies an ill tongue as when it finds an angry heart.

– Thomas Fuller

 

Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back.

– Proverbs 29:11 (NLT)

 

Anger itself is not wrong. All emotions are created by God – It’s just that sin taints emotions. Sort of like fruit that goes bad. Worry is concern gone bad. Fury is anger gone bad.

– Jennifer Smith

 

Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.

– Proverbs 19:11 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

The Truth

/ Susie Stewart / 6 Comments

 

The tension.

It’s everywhere.

The battle is seen, and yet so unseen.

 

And my heart longs to really see each one.

 

And each one wants to be seen.

 

The aggressor, the victim, the marginalized, the misunderstood, the confused, the angry, the hurt,

the human.

 

And I seek HIM.

 

I seek the One who sees all the earth,

and all the people,

and how we are falling apart

and ripping apart at the seams.

 

How we are lashing out at one another,

and hurting one another,

and self-destructing,

 

and blaming Him.

 

And He knows each heart.

Because He is love.

 

And when He walked this earth,

Immanuel,

He looked out at the masses

and He had compassion, and His heart broke.

We were harassed and helpless,

like sheep without a Shepherd.

 

There was a battle

and He knew it.

 

And the battle was not with flesh and blood – with people against people –

but the real battle was spiritual.

 

Spiritual forces,

angelic and demonic,

Deity and satanic,

locked in combat.

Good versus evil.

 

And there was,

and there IS,

a battle for the human mind and heart.

 

Confusion,

hatred,

discord,

violence,

abuse,

isolation,

dullness,

compromise,

doubt,

fear….

 

Truth came in human form,

and He saw through it all.

 

And He had compassion,

and He condemned those that claimed to have the corner market on truth

without truth.

 

And He stood up to temptation

 

with His sights on the goal

 

and He reached the goal

 

and He was silenced……………..

 

And humanity went on with their day

and their next

and their next

not knowing that a precious,

and holy,

and sacred

sacrifice

had been made for each of them.

 

Out of love.

For He is Love.

 

And when my Jesus,

my Jesus,

walked out of that tomb,

He had heaven’s glow.

For the weight of the world,

the weight of sin,

the sting of death,

and condemnation for wrong-doing,

had been conquered with that act.

 

And He had made it so simple!

Follow Him, trust Him, believe that

He

is the only One to save.

 

And He invited everyone to the table.

 

Everyone.

 

And He invited everyone to drink deep of His love and wisdom.

And He invited everyone to freedom from the harassment of evil.

And He invited everyone to walk in truth.

 

Truth.

 

He validated the O.T. writings.

He fulfilled the law.

God with us.

Holiness was finally satisfied with this one act,

perfect,

necessary.

 

And before Jesus

ascended heavenward before their eyes,

He charged His followers with unwavering commitment.

He warned His followers that they would be treated badly,

because although He conquered death,

the battle raged on seen and unseen.

 

Because now it was a race against time

before the end,

 

and the glorious beginning.

 

Evil knew this.

 

And a small contingent of humans

started the word

about the Word,

Indwelled by Spirit,

holy and wise.

 

And people,

all

of the people that were born into this world,

were loved by He who formed them

and who is Love.

 

And the weight of sin on this world,

and the attacks unseen,

and the choices made

that don’t follow He who is Truth,

cause the mind to battle

and cause the enemy to double-up forces

and cause brother to be against brother

 

and looking up

is what we need.

 

And we stare at our feet,

stuck and mired in mud.

 

And we embrace life in the mess.

 

And we go with the crowd.

 

And we delight in our rebellion.

 

And we are unaware….

 

That we are meant to be kept in the dark

by those who are darkness.

And that light and Light are pursuing

and offering a way out

to freedom.

 

And this man, Jesus, who mingled among us,

walked humbly and boldly,

a beautiful combination.

 

Sinners were the ones He moved in and through life with.

But He always offered His righteous hand,

to pull them out of being stuck.

 

Some would grab hold,

some would refuse.

 

And that is still the case.

 

You know the truth.

Know the Truth.

Be set free.

– Susie Stewart

 

“…you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free….if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”

– John 8:32, 36 (NLT)