Repentance is Good Therapy

-

Psalm 77 is a great example of repentance. Psychologist call it "Cognitive Therapy". It is one idea modern psychology gets right.  Repentance means to change one’s thinking, and in this Psalm, Asaph begins relating to God according to how he feels.  He states that his soul refused to be comforted.  Did you ever feel that way?  Notice that he did not say that God refused to comfort him.  It was he that refused God’s comfort.   Asaph felt comfortable with his misery and the idea of trusting God at his word seemed uncomfortable.  However, Asaph made his way by the grace of God to the truth.  He changed His thinking by looking at God’s character, God’s faithfulness and God’s work of our behalf.  He remembered all of God’s mighty works; in other words, he turned away from his feelings, changed his thinking, and set his thoughts on God.  Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ always have a sure foundation to turn to in times of doubt and confusion.  We need not look very far to see God’s mighty works on our behalf.  (Romans 5)  Proof positive that God loves us is the mighty acts he performed for us on the cross.  Because of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are unconditionally loved, eternally secure, fully accepted and completely forgiven.  Our circumstances, feelings or performance are not the things that make us secure and worthy.   If we seek God from any of these we will be asking the same question, “Will the Lord reject forever?”  No, it is Christ Jesus and He alone that makes us secure in this world. Change your thinking; your feelings may or not follow. It may take some time, but they usually do. Nonetheless, you will have an element of peace in the midst of any negative feelings.

Comments

Ralph said…
Hey! I like this. It is a great reminder that my feelings--something I have a lot of--are not my master.

Thanks, Bill!
February 22, 2013 at 11:11 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Conviciton Myth

-
Image
The great news that a believer is under no condemnation is often squelched with the statement, and I have heard it often, "God does not condemen us when we sin, but He will convict us." Really? Is that what the Scriptures teach? As baby Christians, we so often buy hookline and sinker things that are said by preachers, teachers or "mature" Christians because the "BIBLE" says its true. I have found and have been guilty of the same thing, that many folks know what the "BIBLE SAYS," but they have no clue what it means. The present example of God convicting His children is one of those lies. The idea that God won't condemn, but will convict comes from Jesus statement in the upper room. Jesus was telling the disciples about the coming and work of the Holy Spirit. He told them, "Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righ
Read more

Knowing Your Enemy is Half the Battle

-
Image
20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth I don't know if it is half the battle, but I do know that not knowing your enemy in the Christian life is crippling, confusing and catastrophizing . Many Christians might say, "Yep, I know my enemy--it is that filthy devil...I rebuuuuuuuuuuuuuke you filthy devil." Yes, satan is a powerful foe to be reckoned with; however, he is not the real problem...he has been stripped of his power. All he has left is the lie. Lies, lies, lies, is all he has. He is not allowed to come near any believer unless God allows it. It always makes me angry when I see people getting all whipped up about the devil when the Scriptures simply say, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." That is it. The believer has been given "all the fullness" (col. 2) of Christ Jesus which includes headship over the principalities and powers. All we need to do is resist. The weakest of believers have this aut
Read more