Emotion Gone Wild

January 11, 2018 / 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

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

Waiting…

September 22, 2017 / Susie Stewart / 12 Comments

Wait for it….

….

……….

That’s what God asks us to do

sometimes

Just wait.

And we want to not

wait

but in the waiting

is the trusting

in the waiting

is the growing

in the waiting

is the God-dependence

in the waiting

is the patience-building

character-growing

self-denying

goodness of God

When we wait with surrender

He strengthens tenderly and mightily

Waiting reminds us

of the Lord’s broad view

of heaven and earth

and we TRUST

in His perspective

– Susie Stewart

Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.

– Psalm 27:14 (NIV)

Yet, the strength of those who wait with hope in the Lord will be renewed. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and won’t become weary. They will walk and won’t grow tired.

– Isaiah 40:31 (GW)

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in His word I put my hope.

– Psalm 130:5 (NIV)

Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.

– Psalm 37:7 (GW)

Photo by Susie Stewart

A Free Prisoner

April 21, 2017 / Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

I am

Your prisoner, Lord

and what a freedom I have found

in this captivity!

Captivated by Your Love

and surrendered to Your will

I am free

when I bow myself

to You

Fully

and completely

My heart

My life

My marriage

My posessions

My family

My future

Everything

I am Your prisoner, Lord

Willingly,

I am Yours

– Susie Stewart

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles…

– Ephesians 3:1 (NIV)

This Lord is the Spirit. Wherever the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom.

– 2 Corinthians 3:17 (GW)

Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.

– 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 (MSG)

He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting Him might pass Him by. “Abba, Father,” He cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from Me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine.”

– Mark 14:35-36 (NLT)

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

– Galatians 5:1 (NIV)

Photo by Susie Stewart

All In

August 4, 2016August 4, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

All is His

and yet we grasp at it

He rules all

and yet we try to control

And when we don’t surrender

that which is already His

it only creates fear

and anger,

angst and worry

And it means that we aren’t all in

with Him

And once it is laid down

in love and obedience

He takes it and He blesses the sacrifice

done in worship

And there is peace in the soul of the one

who laid down the control

that was never his to begin with

– Susie Stewart

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him.

– Romans 12:1 (NLT)

If only you would prepare your heart
and lift up your hands to Him in prayer!

– Job 11:13 (NLT)

That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead!—into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God.

– Romans 6:12-14 (MSG)

If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.

– C.T. Studd

Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow You,” he said.

– Mark 10:28 (NLT)

Photo by Susie Stewart

Surrender

July 17, 2016 / Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

Surrender

is so sweet

It is a free fall into the arms

of Abba

It is a breath of fresh air

after holding it for too long

It is the white flag

changed from black control

It is tight fists

released and open-palmed

It is the bowing of all

for God’s purposes

Acknowledgement

of sovereignty Divine

Surrender is necessary

for peace and joy

Surrender

is so sweet

– Susie Stewart

You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.

– Proverbs 19:21 (NLT)

The Eternal made everything for a reason. Even wrongdoers fit in His plans; troubled times await them.

– Proverbs 16:4 (VOICE)

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

– Psalm 37:23 (NLT)

Peter: Master, we have left behind everything we had to follow You.

– Mark 10:28 (VOICE)

For any one of you who wants to be rescued will lose your life, but any one of you who loses your life for My sake and for the sake of this good news will be liberated.

– Mark 8:35 (VOICE)

Brothers and sisters, in light of all I have shared with you about God’s mercies, I urge you to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God, a sacred offering that brings Him pleasure; this is your reasonable, essential worship.

– Romans 12:1 (VOICE)

Photo by Susie Stewart

In Between

March 3, 2015January 4, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

This place.

In between.

It is an anxious place

or it is a peaceful place.

It feels like a loss of control

or it feels like complete surrender.

It is marked by worry

or it is marked with trust.

Waiting

waiting

In between.

When you look back on those times

you should see

growth

learning

more depth

renewal of trust

more faith

But at times

you see

distrust

staying stuck

bitterness

anxiety

anger

In between

should be a good place to be

because that’s where

you are stretched

and you depend

and you look up

and you are satisfied

Because it’s not about your circumstances,

but about your relationship

with Jesus….

Who knows what waiting feels like

and knows what dependence feels like

and knows what

surrender

…..feels like.

– Susie Stewart

Heart

February 26, 2015January 5, 2016 / Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

A stubborn heart.

A hard heart.

An unyielding heart.

I read about Pharoah

and his stone-cold heart.

And I’m incredulous.

Good grief!

How could he continue

holding the Israelites captive

plague

after plague

after plague…

God spoke!

Pharaoh feigned surrender.

He wouldn’t let go.

The consequences

the consequences

the consequences…

Destruction, pain, death.

A stubborn heart.

A hard heart.

An unyielding heart.

I can relate.

I have hardened my heart at times.

God goes to great lengths to soften it.

He works on making my heart pliable

as He unclenches my tight fists.

They go together – tight hearts and tight fists.

As I open those hands,

as I surrender all to Him,

as I trust that He knows

He knows

He knows,

my heart softens.

A stubborn heart.

A hard heart.

An unyielding heart.

It forfeits blessings.

It affects others.

It alienates.

It distances.

It creates chasms

between you and people

between you and God

between you and who you could be.

Lord, continue to make my heart pliable.

Let it bend and curve to Your beckoning.

I want

open hands of surrender

and

an open heart of trust.

– Susie Stewart

Consecrate

November 5, 2014January 5, 2016 / Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

Hebrews 12:1,2 (NLT)

Have you ever had times when the Lord was telling you to drop something, to strip yourself of it, to let it go? That you will be lighter, more free, less encumbered, more effective.

And yet…….

Ugh.

That’s where I am today. And have been. It has bee an actual mental, emotional, even physical struggle. I keep pulling back what I think I have already surrendered. Why have I been dragging my feet in the dirt?

Control.

Simply that.

My pride doesn’t want to give up control.

I want to effect the outcome.

I want to manage this.

I want.

I want…..

In the book of Joshua, chapter three verse five, it says that Joshua told the Israelites, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” God has been reminding me of this verse a number of times recently.

He has been speaking.

I’ve been hearing Him.

And I’ve been… well, I have not been allowing the Holy Spirit to permeate every corner, to consecrate my faith walk.

That would take complete surrender.

Not surrendering is so exhausting.

It’s like running the race in your coat and snow pants.

That sin, that extra weight that trips us up, its heavy.

Stripping ourselves of that weight, consecrating ourselves before our Lord, is essential for running with endurance.

“Tomorrow” God is going to do something amazing!

How can that be if I’m caught up in yesterday?

My surrender of the “high places” needs to happen today.

It’s not to be saved for later.

Today.

“They worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places……..Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols.” 2 Kings 17:32 & 41

These things that we hang on to, the things that gnaw at us, they become idols we are refusing to give up.

Focus is blurred.

Something else in view. We are straining to see God around “it”.

“Because of the joy before Him, He endured the cross…”

Jesus surrendered. God’s Son endured and took upon Himself that which we want to blindly hold in our tight little fists.

He surrendered and “tomorrow” held amazing things!

He conquered death. And purchased my freedom.

We run with endurance by fixing our eyes on Him.

Not the past.

Not our struggles.

Not other people’s actions.

On Him.