How should we handle emotional attacks? Today, the Apostle Paul is our example on this topic, and it involves making space and taking grace. Let’s work this through together, beginning in Psalm 61.
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Transcription:
The waves are always going to come in this life. But the good news is you and I can learn how to surf. A fitting analogy for us today as shark week rolls on. It’s the Bible for Busy People. I’m Erica, and I’m so glad you’re here.
So far, you and I have talked about what to do when our enemy, the devil attacks, and when people attack us. Well, today we’re going to cover a type of attack that is a bit more subtle. It’s what I call an emotional attack. Have you ever felt off balance, like anxious thoughts are coming in; like waves just knocking you over, or you felt feelings of depression pull you under like a riptide? Other times, maybe it’s like a tiger shark coming out of nowhere. Anger just takes over where moments before you were perfectly calm. It can completely turn your day upside down. So what do you do? Well, I have a two-pronged approach that I want to share with you today.
Make space and take grace.
Let’s start with making space. If you’re feeling anxious or depressed or angry or overwhelmed, whatever the negative emotion is, walk away. Take some time to get outside. Listen to the birds sing. Go in your closet and shut the door and just sit in the perfect quiet. Make a little space to get away from whatever caused the emotion, and then get honest with God wherever you are. King David does this beautifully in Psalm 61. Join me in verse one,
O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer! 2 From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed.
Doesn’t he put that so beautifully? Don’t you know that feeling when your heart is overwhelmed, the waves of life are knocking you down and it’s like you’ve got water up your nose and you can’t stand up? David understood what that felt like and he brought those feelings to God. Continuing on in verse two,
Lead me to the towering rock of safety, 3 for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.
And now I’m not a theologian, but I believe with all my heart that that includes more than just people and the devil. It includes your emotions. I believe God wants to take us to a place where the emotions can’t reach us; where his peace covers us like a shawl. Okay, verse four now.
Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings! 5 For you have heard my vows, O God. You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear your name. 6 Add many years to the life of the king! May his years span the generations! 7 May he reign under God’s protection forever. May your unfailing love and faithfulness watch over him. 8 Then I will sing praises to your name forever as I fulfill my vows each day.
One of the things I really appreciate about the Psalms and so often King David writes like this, he starts out like, “My heart is overwhelmed. I can’t take it.” But then you can tell that he’s centering himself as he writes and focuses on how God has him. He’s holding his heart. He’s got the whole world in his hands, including your heart. So, it’s such a good thing to make some space, to be quiet, to be surrounded by the sounds of nature. Whatever works for you and to get honest with God. You can be like a modern day psalmist. You can journal, write Psalms like David did. Write out your heart. Pour it out before the Lord. And that is one way to take the reigns of your emotions back from the enemy, right? So often the devil messes with our emotions. People mess with our emotions. So it’s like a trifecta attack, isn’t it? I’m just thinking about that as you and I are chatting here together. Alright, so first, when we’re under an emotional attack, you and I make space, and then we take grace. Maybe you’ve heard the story of the Apostle Paul and his thorn. We’re about to dive into it today. There was something in his life and nobody knows what it is. It could have been anxiety, it could have been depression. So it could have been emotional or it could have been physical. We don’t know what the thorn is, but I got to tell you, I actually appreciate that mystery. The Apostle Paul who wrote much of the New Testament, who was a hero of the faith, he struggled too. Doesn’t that kind of give you a little hope? So join me now as we study Paul’s thorn together in two Corinthians chapter 12.
I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago.
Paul writes.
Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. 3 Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know 4 that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell. 5 That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. 6 If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, 7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. 8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
And when you and I are weak, we can be strong too. Paul’s thorn was a messenger from Satan. So often Satan operates through our emotions, but you know what? We have God’s grace on our side. Paul leaned on God and found grace, and you and I can do the same thing. Think about grace as a verb. Like when someone graces you with their presence. When you are under an emotional attack, God is so willing to grace you with his presence. Nothing can stand against you until next time. You are really loved.
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