Have you ever wondered why you can go a couple of days - even a couple of weeks - feeling good about yourself and your life, then suddenly you are hit with thoughts about the wrongs that have been done to you - and quickly you find yourself spiraling downward emotionally?
What is it that you want to do when you're feeling emotional pain - especially justified emotional pain?
For too many, it is the “sin that so easily entangles”. (Hebrews 12: 1)
For some, it is to pop a pill, drink alcohol, or smoke – anything that may bring an immediate chemical change and/or numbness.
For others, it is a mental/fantasy escape - primarily in the form of pornography, etc.
Still for others, it may be the combo of chemical and fantasy in sexual encounters.
Here is a simple break-down of why we spiral downward and into the sin that so easily entangles:
1. The enemy plants the thoughts of the wrong done to you (this is his only in-road)
2. Those thoughts bring emotions, and it’s our emotions that influence our will
3. In that moment when we’re hit with thoughts/memories of the wrong done to us, if we have not chosen to forgive - or we insist on staying in the mindset of unforgiveness we've already chosen to have towards those who have wronged us, we then fall prey to self-pity
4. Once we step into self-pity, we will then either turn to God for comfort - or the ‘sin that so easily entangles us’.
This same principal is true for those that are experiencing lack.
Example: A husband or wife feel they have done all they can to bring their spouse to a place where that spouse desires to fulfill their needs and wants. Then, after some time has passed, and no visible changes have occurred, they may begin to feel/believe there’s no hope for change - no hope for their desires to ever be met by their spouse.
Out of that ‘lack’, they will begin to feel self-pity.
Then as a result of that self-pity, there comes justification to turn to ‘the sin that so easily entangles them’. For some, it is sex. For others, it could be porn - and yet for others it may be food, TV, fantasy novels, Facebook, pills, alcohol, etc.
For the person that turns to sex, or anything other than God, they (out of self-pity) have decided they deserve to be happy and satisfied. Consequently, they begin to justify why they should set out to please themselves.
Reality Check:
Whenever we choose to turn to anything other than God, it is at that point we then discover:
The need has not been met - the problem not fixed - so now as a result of turning to something or someone other than God – we suddenly feel very bad about ourselves. A.k.a.: condemnation! And condemnation will inevitably empower even more sin.
The truth is, no one wants to feel pain! Yet once we fall under condemnation - which is painful - we pull away from God. And when we pull away from God, we then turn to something or someone else for comfort – even numbness (however we choose to bring it).
The end result of doing things our way, is that we ultimately add more pain and destruction to our lives. It will perpetuate - and worse - prolong the problem. From there, more pain, more dysfunction, and more problems are added. And not just for us personally, but for those that care about us.
For those that fall prey to self- pity - which always brings us to the place where we justify our sin – it will be those in our lives that love and care about us, that become the ‘collateral damage’. Consequently, now they have thoughts/memories/pain to overcome as well. And so the cycle goes.
But there is hope!
Romans 8:1: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…”
The key to ending the pain - as well as the cycle of sin, dysfunction and condemnation - is to know that no matter how badly we have sinned - or how many times - because Jesus took the punishment due to us, and because He was forsaken - we will never be punished (for our wrong doing), OR forsaken by God as a result of our sins.
Condemnation comes from being more aware of the wrong we have done, than the RIGHT Jesus did on our behalf.
The ONLY way out of condemnation is to receive the GIFT of right standing before God, given to us through the sacrifice of Jesus’ body and shed blood. It is ONLY the shedding of innocent blood that brings the forgiveness of sin. (Hebrews 9: 22)
Now that we understand that: a) thoughts provoke emotions; b) emotions are compelling and convincing; and c) it is those very emotions that influence our will (which dictates how we are going to act/ respond in situations) - then it is imperative that we determine if our thoughts are correct. And we must base that judgment solely on the word of God, and whether or not our thoughts are lining up to it accordingly.
If the thoughts we find crossing our mind do not line up with what Jesus has done for us and MADE us - then they are completely inaccurate!
This is when we have a choice.
We either accept the thoughts the ‘enemy of our destiny’ plants in our mind (which we now know will lead us to into self-pity, ultimately leading to justification of sin);
-OR-
We push against him - recognizing that these ‘thoughts’ he’s planting, are attempting to pull us down and into something that will bring us to the place of embarrassment - of sabotaging ourselves, our future, and our destiny - and eventually bring hurt and pain to those we love most.
In that moment when you are hit with thoughts/memories of how you have been wronged (or even how you have wronged someone), choose to forgive. And if you have forgiven, push hard against those thoughts by insisting, “I have already forgiven- I am NOT going there again! I am NOT going to ‘buy back’ into unforgiveness! I have forgiven and I do not believe my emotions!”
By not falling prey to self- pity, you will be empowered to focus on who you really are:
* You are forgiven of ALL sins once and for all (past, present AND future)
* You are already - and will forever - remain right before God, no matter how bad or much you sin.
Why? Because you have chosen to believe (put your faith) in Jesus! HE alone is the reason you are in God’s grace. (His unearned gift of right-standing, which is solely based on faith – and that faith being the belief that Jesus was and is THE sacrifice that cleansed man from sin, once and for all). [Romans 5: 20, Romans 6: 10, Col. 2: 13 & 14, Eph. 1: 7, Hebrews 7: 27, 9: 26, Hebrews 10:10, 12 & 14, 1 Peter 3: 18]
Remember: the grace of God is the GIFT of righteousness (right-standing before God), given divinely by God through Jesus - who never sinned, but took on our sin as if He had committed every one of them. Thereby, he took all the punishment for every sin that man would ever commit. (2 Corinthians 5: 21)
Jesus removed THE hindrance between God and man: SIN. (Romans 5: 6- 11).
Though we sin, our sins are no longer counted against us. This is so that we can remain acutely aware that as a result of being cleansed of all our sins, God is now able to dwell within us. It is Him within us, who has written His holy standards on our hearts and mind, thereby giving us the inner knowing of right and wrong. That ‘inner knowing’ can only be followed once we know (and believe) we are forgiven. As a result, there is no longer a need for us to feel unworthy to talk to Him- and more than that, LISTEN to Him- the holy God, who is now our Father - our Daddy - living within us.
[2 Corinthians 5: 19, Romans 4: 6-8 & 5: 13, Jer. 31: 31-34 & Hebrews 8: 12]
Jesus has sanctified us, and made us holy before God. When we do sin, we don’t become unholy again. Instead, we remain holy. And that fact is not based on our merit or right doing - but by our right believing in Jesus having made us right before God. This will then enable us to remain in constant connection with our holy God, so that our unholy actions will slowly but surely – (even effortlessly!) – dissipate. Then our outside will match our inside. (Hebrews 10:10 & 14)
This IS the Gospel – this IS the Good News!
