I spent my high school years in the fetal position.
Almost no one knew. I acted fine, but I wasn’t fine at all.
Anxiety, depression, eating disorder, hating myself…there was so much darkness in my life.
BUT GOD DIDN’T LEAVE ME THERE.
He filled my life with light. And although I’m not perfect now, I have more emotional stability than I used to.
(People have even commented on it.)
So I want to share two little secrets (each one from the Bible) that helped me get here.
#1 – Focus on the LIGHT
I’m memorizing the book of Jude with some friends right now, and I noticed something really interesting this morning.
Jude is writing to correct the church.
But he’s not focused on what they did wrong.
He says, “certain individuals, whose condemnation was written about long ago, have secretly slipped in among you [with evil intentions].” (Jude 1:4)
Before he gets to this part though, he talks about the light (Jesus and what He did for us).
Paul does it too…
Paul does the same thing.
I’ve always thought it’s silly (but beautiful) how Paul’s letters of correction don’t sound like he’s mad at all when you read them alone.
But when you read his other letters, he starts most of them with “I’m grateful to God for you.”
When he doesn’t, it’s a big deal.
Both Paul and Jude—foundational leaders of the early church—focused on the LIGHT instead of the darkness.
They focused their letters on God and how to fill your life with him.
They focused on how to have a right relationship with him, instead of focusing on what the believers were doing wrong.
It’s less about fighting the darkness than ushering in the LIGHT. (And if you’re new here, that’s what I talk about every week. I’d love to send you a little gift: the playlist that helped me smile more and cry less.)
#2 – Forgive
God has taught me so much about forgiveness over these last few years.
(Tons! I want to share it all!)
But there isn’t time and space for that right now. (If you want me to share it though, send me a message and I’ll write another article to share those insights with you.)
I’ve had to practice forgiveness this week, and I remembered something MAJOR that’s helped me so much.
(Basically I fail at forgiveness without it.)
It’s actually really simple.
After you’ve forgiven (with God’s help), sometimes those emotions pop up again.
BUT you don’t have to stay stuck.
Every time you remember the thing that hurt you, decide that it’s already done and dealt with.
Stick with your decision AS A WAY of standing on what God did at the cross.
The cross hasn’t failed you, so neither has the foundation your forgiveness is built on.
The cross hasn’t failed you, so neither has the foundation that your forgiveness is built on.
You can make it that simple.
Even if you don’t have someone you need to forgive today, tuck this away for the future.
It WILL help your emotional stability, because it means not being tossed around like a wave of the sea (Jude 1). When you ask God to help you forgive, you can trust that he’s done it, even if your emotions don’t agree.
The real secret to emotional stability…
Both tips that I shared today are ways of bringing your emotions into alignment with the cross.
- Focus on the LIGHT instead of the darkness.
- Forgive (and stick with your forgiveness)
Use these two tips and emotional stability will follow—because doing things God’s way is the best plan for filling your life with LIGHT.
What do you think? Do you still struggle with your emotions after you’ve forgiven? Have you ever noticed that about Paul’s letters before? Leave your thoughts in a comment below.
Another way to fill your life with LIGHT is to listen to upbeat, clean music. I’ll send you the playlist that helped me smile more and cry less for free–enter your email below!