March 23, 2015

Emotions: Confront the Lies Conquer with Truth

When I was nearing the end of this book I read a CNN article (Two preaching giants and the 'betrayal' that tore them apart) about Charles Stanley and his son Andy.

I learned for the first time that he had been divorced and had a strenuous relationship with his son.

I was a little taken aback because I didn't know these things about him. (I know I'm a little behind on the news. It happened 20 years ago) : )

But I have to say it made this book even more meaningful, even more powerful.

And I saw the grace of God even clearer.

Charles Stanley is just a human being like the rest of us and his openness to share his pain and share the gift of God's grace really spoke to my heart.

He says here:

"God created you and me with the capacity to experience the full gamut of emotions so we could enjoy life, share our inner being with others, and reflect His image. They were given to us as a gift so we could interact meaningfully with our heavenly Father and the people we know. However, in this fallen world, our feelings have become a mixed blessing. The same capacity that allows us to experience intense, overflowing joy is also the gateway to sorrow so deep and overwhelming that, like Job, we may wish we had never been born. (Job 3:3)"

He deals with these negative feelings in a Biblical manner. Emotions like rejection, bitterness, guilt and despair. He shares personal experiences from his childhood with an abusive stepfather, to his experiences as a pastor. I really felt a humility in his words that made it easy to open up to what he was teaching.

And most importantly, he pointed to Christ.

He shares that trusting Jesus comes first:

"If you cannot trust Jesus enough to save you, then nothing I write here will do you any good. You cannot even begin to have fellowship with God until your sins are forgiven once and for all through faith in Christ.

This is because when Jesus saves you, He sends His Holy Spirit to live within you and teach you. The Holy Spirit is the One who searches your heart and mind - repairing your brokenness, counteracting wrong beliefs, and enabling you to overcome your circumstances. Without a relationship with Him, there can be no true emotional healing. Without the Holy Spirit empowering you, you cannot have victory over your feelings."

The theme of this book was really about how we often see ourselves (lies) and how God sees us (truth).

He says here in the chapter about rejection:

"The only way to have victory over rejection is to release the damaging ideas we have about ourselves and take hold of God's truth."

And here:

"There is no need to go through life handicapped by past experiences. What others say about you doesn't matter. How they treated you is inconsequential. The only accurate, eternal, unassailable measure of your worth comes from almighty God, who will one day judge the living and the dead without exception (1Peter 4:4-5)."

Your worth is in Christ.

Who He is and what He has done for you gives you worth beyond measure, beyond measure!


I think this was my favorite chapter because I related to it the most. The fear of rejection has been very real in my life. The starting point of healing for me was a few years ago when the Lord spoke five words to me during a time of sadness in my life. He whispered... Your worth is in Me.

Since then it has been slow but steady and this book has been so encouraging. This chapter goes on to talk about our worth in belonging to Him as adopted children, worth in our relationship with Christ and worth in competence through the Holy Spirit.

He shares 50 facts on who we are in Christ.

I've shared ten of them here:

1.  You are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17)
2.  You are a child of the almighty, sovereign God (Rom. 8:16)
3.  You are the righteousness of God in Christ (2Cor. 5:21)
4.  You are unconditionally loved (1John 3:1)

5.  You are permanently forgiven (Eph. 1:7)
6.  You are free (Gal. 5:1)
7.  You are an ambassador for Christ (2Cor. 5:19)
8.  You have eternal life (John 3:16)
9.  You are called, justified, glorified (Rom. 8:30)
10. You are perfected, confirmed, strengthened, and established (1 Peter 5:10)

These aren't just words, these are life.

Life in Christ.

We, as Christians, are truly and fully free, truly and fully loved and truly and fully forgiven. We are not waiting for eternal life, we are living it in Christ now!

This next quote was very profound for me:

"...it is also crucial to turn your attention outward from your desires to the needs of others. You are to love those whom God gives you to care for - whether they return your affection or not."

This really makes such a difference. To take attention off of ourselves and serve others is not only beneficial for us and them, but it is the imitation of Christ.

I wanted to share so much more from this book but this post is just getting to long! I do highly recommend it for anyone struggling with feelings of rejection, guilt, bitterness or despair.

There is hope, and it is in Christ. He can heal every broken heart.


Buy it HERE on Amazon

25 comments:

  1. This sounds like such a powerful book. I love books that point to the truth of who we are in Christ. It's too easy to forget that we are royalty, of divine blood, when we let our emotions have their way with us. Thanks for sharing about this book. I'll watch for it.

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    1. I found certain chapters spoke powerfully to me and that other chapters may speak powerfully to others. Overall it contains a lot to think about and yes reminds us we are the children of the King! : )

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  2. It does sound like quite the interesting read. Emotions are indeed a blessing...but can steer us off the tracks so very easily if we're not submitting them to Christ.

    Thanks for the review.

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    1. Well said! Thanks for stopping by Carrie. : )

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  3. Thank you for the words you shared here... :)

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  4. Thanks for sharing, I love reading Charles Stanley's "In Touch" Magazines and see that you can get them free online. I, too, have been inwardly challenged and encouraged by His words. I didn't know he went through a divorce and trying time with his son, either till just now. What an incredible amount of grace there is to go around! Thanks for sharing and encouraging me in my walk with the Lord. Blessings on your week, Jeannie

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    1. Blessings to you too Jeannie! Thanks for stopping by. : )

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  5. I remember a friend who was getting a counseling degree telling me that emotions aren't good or bad, they just are. And to a point, I agree. It isn't bad to feel negative emotions and it's not always good to feel positive emotions - but that doesn't mean we don't feel them. I think what my friend was trying to get at was that we don't need to push aside what we feel.

    What I think her statement missed, though, is that our feelings are often the outcome of falsehood. I feel depressed at the end of the day when I don't get everything on my to do list done because I think my worth depends on what I get accomplished. On other occasions, I deal with seasonal depression - because there isn't enough light. It's not wrong for me to be depressed (to feel that emotion) - but when my depression is the result of a lie, I need to identify the lie and take it captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor 10:5). It sounds like that's what this book talks about - in which case, hurrah!

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    1. Yes, you said it perfectly. It's not wrong to feel depressed unless it's based on a lie. He talks about this in the book and distinguishes the difference. He also makes it clear, more than once, that those who clinically suffer from depression should seek professional help and encouragement.

      Thanks for your comment Bekah! Glad you stopped by. : )

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  6. I love reading your book reviews. I am always blessed by new books to put on my list to read. Once again this book sounds like one that I would get so much out of that it will go on my list. I love the power behind the 10 facts of who we are in Christ. Amen. Have a blessed day.

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    1. It's always nice to hear someone putting a good book on their reading list! Hope you enjoy it. : )

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  7. Ah, emotions. This sounds like a book that would be such a wonderful resource. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. Cathy,

    Thanks for a thorough book review...and for reminding us how we need to remember our worth and identity from God's perspective....visiting from Lyli's blog...blessings to you :-)

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  9. Thank you for sharing this book review with us at Good Morning Mondays. Blessings

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    1. Thank-you for the opportunity to link-upTerri!

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  10. For a couple of months now the Lord has been impressing the lessons you shared from Charles Stanley's book into my heart. It never ceases to amaze me how He threads all our interactions to speak to our hearts on a particular matter.

    I wasn't familiar with this book, but because I struggle with some of the issues you mentioned, I thank you for sharing and will definitely check the book out!

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    1. It's always exciting to hear something like this Karen! Love when the Lord does that. God bless! : )

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  11. I appreciate your thoughts on this book. Thanks for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday on Mommynificent.com this week!
    Tina

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  12. Thank you for this review! This book is definitely going on my to-read list! I am always blessed by Charles Stanley and look forward to reading this. God bless!

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    1. Glad you stopped by Letetia! Enjoy this great book. : )

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  13. Great post. I will be going through a few of these issues as well..

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Feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments. I try to respond to all of them by the end of the week. : )