Mood, Mood Go Away!

A sweet, new friend of mine sent me a devotional the other day from the Purpose Driven Life series. I now subscribe to it and get it on a daily basis. It is a great way to start your day...for me, a cup of coffee, my Bible, my computer (for the devotional of course) and my back porch table are the perfect way to wake up and say hello to the Father!

So, Wednesday's devo, that I read today, was titled Self-Control is Not An Option. Anything that says "NOT AN OPTION" is bound to get my attention. Sadly, it is because my first instinct and reaction is usually to think, "who says?" Eek...do I need a little self-control? Um, yes.

The devotional was based on Titus 2:11-12, which states, "For the grace of God … teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives."

When I first read that verse, I thought worldly passions involved the things we want in this world, mainly material possessions. But Rick Warren goes on to pose these questions...Do you let your moods manipulate you? WHOA!!! Hold on there, now Rick. That's quite a personal question don't you think? There goes that strong will of mine again.

Seriously, that question got me thinking about feelings and what they are and what they mean. How many times do we say, "I just have a feeling..." or "I don't feel like it..." or "I just feel like he/she is..." or "I feel God wants me to..."

Our feelings do dictate many of our decisions. It is SO easy to be led by your feelings and emotions...your "WORLDLY PASSIONS."

God doesn't want us to be controlled by our feelings and our moods. Rick Warren tells us to "talk back to your feelings." What a cool idea, huh? Albeit, a little strange if you do it aloud in public!

Here is an excerpt I liked:
Believe you can change. The fruit of the Spirit begins in your thought
life. The seeds must be planted in your mind: The way you think
determines the way you feel, and the way you feel determines the way you act.

That reminds me of a little blog I just started reading...check it out here.

First Corinthians 10:13 says, “God is faithful; he will
not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are
tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it”
(NIV). Wareen goes on to say that we, as CHRISTIANS, have no excuse when it comes to temptation. We have been given the power, through HIM to say "no" to evil and to choose to do good. Uh-oh...I'm in big trouble.

But the unbelievable part of that for me...the part that I really started to get excited about as I thought about it was that HE KNOWS we will give into temptation. He doesn't want us to, and he tells us NOT TO. But, as sinners, he KNOWS we will. This is when his MERCY is greater and bigger than ever...when he tells us "No" and we do it anyway...we ignore the fact that he tells us He is faithful. But then, He forgives us. It's not because He had to, or because what we did wasn't that big of a deal. It is because he LOVES US...HE LOVES YOU, HE LOVES ME...HE LOVES ALL OF US...more than any person has ever been loved in the history of loving.

And this, my friends, is the BEST part of the whole thing! The big shebang, the glorious Alleluia, the Amen, Preach on Preacher, Tell it Sister, the Praise God and Glory to Him.....................are you ready?

When things get hard and Satan is tempting your heart to turn away from God, here is the good news...

"He never asks you to bear something that is bigger than the strength he
puts inside of you through his Holy Spirit."

God knows every one of your steps before you take them, so doesn't it make sense that He would know exactly what you would need to survive even the grandest temptation, to be able to "stand under it?"

So, answer this...

Do you, like me, allow your emotions, feelings, or moods to get the best of you and manipulate your decisions?

If so, I know Someone who can help.