So often we can get focused on who we aren’t instead of who we are. When we are stressed, discouraged, or overwhelmed, it is easy to focus on the negative things in life and in ourselves. We tend to ruminate on all the things we are doing wrong and the ways we have failed our family, friends, or coworkers. We can focus on missed opportunities in our lives or different choices we wish we may have made along the way in life. These things can lead us into a further spiral of negative thoughts.
One of my favorite scriptures is Jeremiah 11 ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart’. God formed every detail about us in our mother’s womb. He knew us. He knew everything about us and knit us together to be the exact person that we are today. That means He knew your personality. He knew what makes you mad, what makes you sad, what makes you cry, and what makes you quirky. He had a plan and a purpose in your exact personality. If we think about ourselves in the context of God’s plan, there is comfort in knowing there are no mistakes in who we are. We make mistakes, but we are not a mistake. When we are overwhelmed and discouraged, we can take heart that God created us to that we could have these exact emotions and reactions.
We can look to David and the Psalms to explore how we are to handle these emotions. David starts his psalms by ventilating his emotions to God. He thinks about revenge and all the frustration he wants to work out on others or what he wants God to do on his behalf. When his emotion has burned off or settled down, he focuses his heart and mind on God. He then speaks of the attributes of who God is. Refocusing brings him peace. Refocusing reminds him who God is and who He is in God. This brings him peace and gives him the strength to carry on.
Next time your heart is overwhelmed, you blow it and act in ways you wish you hadn’t, or your mind is filled with anxious thoughts, go to God with all the emotions boiling inside of you. Pour them all out to Him. Then focus your heart on who He is- strong, forgiving, comforter, creator, healer, helper, compassionate, and giving. Then remind yourself of who He says you are. You are someone He knit together in your mother’s womb. For every part of you, He has a plan and a purpose. He created you, even the parts you don’t like about yourself, for a plan and a purpose. Surrender your emotions to Him. Surrender yourself to Him and allow Him the space to create in us all He wants for us to be.
Today’s post was written by Tonya Nash. You can read more about Tonya on our Guest Author page.