When things go wrong as they do for me
Did it every occur to you it was meant to be?
God never tests us beyond our strength
Though sometimes we are tested at great length.
There’s one thing for which we can be sure
We can help others only if we endure.
So if you are able to stand God’s test
It will make you much stronger to do your best.
Have you ever been in a place where the week just seemed long and everything came at once? That saying, “it never rains but it pours,” does it ring true? I have had weeks like that. There was a time in 2021 when my health came to a head so to speak and I had to stay grounded in God’s Word.
A few years ago I had the worst nerve pain of my life with my hEDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome).
My doctor put me on some meds and assured me they would help. They did but I didn’t want to be on them forever. I worked with my current doctor to be weaned off of them. I felt great (nerve pain wise) and I was ready to be over the pill popping and on to a better quality of life and living.
He had been warning me that there would be emotions and side effects in the weaning process but they would come to an end. I didn’t think the emotional rollercoaster that comes with the weaning would happen to me because after all, I’m a joyful person, right? I found out they come to joyful people, too. Being weaned off of meds is not for the faint of heart! Humanly speaking, I just didn’t want to have these emotions anymore! They took me by surprise.
How did I deal with the surges; the ebbs and flows and the emotions and physical illness that kept catching me off guard? For starters, I took a lot of deep breaths and lots of changing the subject in my mind when tears would well up. I found that talking to Pierre and the kids as well as my friend, Dee and my mom helped, but mostly I just wanted to sing and find that Scripture that touches the soul. What would those Scriptures be? How could I move from humanly speaking to heavenly resting? There are five attributes I have noticed that helped me through all these emotions.
Gentleness
What is gentleness? One writer put it as a “humble attitude softened by knowledge of God’s grace.” God is giving me grace to have these human emotions and turn to Him. Ephesians 4:7 has shown me that “…unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Every one of us has grace to be gentle and grace to have an attitude humbled by what God is doing through us and in spite of us. So when that humanly speaking emotion bubbles up may I remember that gentleness allows me to turn it into an attitude of God’s amazing grace in my life.
Quietness
Have you ever just been quiet? Our world today is not geared toward quietness but I have been learning that sometimes what I need and crave is quietness. I’m learning that when I need to be quiet I can have confidence in the Lord and this leads to wise actions and speech. Back to Ephesians (3:12) we read, “In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.”
If I would just sit and be quiet I would learn that I can then enter boldly before the throne of God and have access to a faith so deep and rich no human emotion can interfere. Quietness before the Father leads to wisdom in seeking His Word and speaking forth the praise that comes when emotions become heaven rested.
Hope
Trust in God. Hope is such a beautiful word full of so much action. Psalm 16:9 is so profound that I have to dwell on it for a minute. “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.” I believe it is saying that my heart can be glad in spite of the emotions I’m feeling and because of the glory I have in Christ. When I rejoice my flesh has rest because of hope. Humanly speaking emotions are put to bed and my heavenly rest is there. Hope. “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.” (Psalm 31:24)
Faithfulness
Am I to be faithful to God or is He to be faithful to me in order to bring my human emotions under some control? I believe that when I obey Him and I am determined to do right, my faith brings into bondage human emotions that are unnecessary. God encourages us that we will have trouble in this world but He also gives us a solution.
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 tells us that faithfulness in Christ brings a victory over the world and all the humanly speaking emotions that we do not want to keep us under bondage. To be bound to them is to be living in fear and not faith.
Fearlessness
This leads me to the last attribute which is fearlessness. Do we fear as humans? Of course! Do we need to stay down in that fear and allow it to shrivel our souls and deplete our physical wellbeing? No, we can rise above. We can have courage in the light of God’s promises. God gave a promise when we are in the face of fear.
“What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” What promise did the Psalmist give us in 56:3? He promised we will have a time of fear (a time of emotions) but we can trust in God. We can have fearlessness in the face of humanly speaking emotions. Trusting in God brings rest and a sweet peace.
JOY IN HEAVENLY RESTING