Emotional Health Part 2: Feeling Safe
The foundation of emotional health is to feel loved. If you haven’t read Emotional health part 1, go check it out. God helped me write it, so it’s really good. The next level of emotional health is to feel safe. If you are constantly on high alert because you do not feel safe or protected, this will drain you emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
This has been an area I have particularly struggled with, but it has brought me to my knees in prayer time and time again, while clinging to the promises Jesus has given me. Jesus does not guarantee we will not have bad things happen to us. It says in John 16:33:
“In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, for I have overcome the world!”
This was said a moment in time, after Jesus had been beaten, died on the cross and came back to life. He was talking to his disciples and telling them He was going to be with his father in heaven, but he was sending an Advocate to help them.
Jesus knew what was to come for his followers, as he said:
From John 16:
2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.
20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
Now, this to me doesn’t sound like being very safe… weeping and mourning, being killed? No thanks!
But did you read the part about how a woman giving birth to a child forgets all the anguish because of the joy she has for her child? Now this I can relate with. The joy of having a child doesn’t even compare to the pain of childbirth. Yes, it is hard and overwhelming and crazy, but once your baby comes, none of that even matters anymore!
I think that is a glimpse into the comparison of Earth and Heaven. Being here on Earth is like being in labor: trials, times of peace, more trials, times of excitement and joy, more trials, etc. But once we get to Heaven, we will be filled with this incredible joy and peace love, that it won’t even matter what we went through on Earth.
With that in mind, I think we can have a peace, knowing that whatever trials may come here on Earth, it’s only temporary.
Check out Psalms 23:
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Do you notice here that there are times where there are green pastures, quiet waters, and refreshing of the soul, and then there are times in the darkest valleys?
It says “He guides me along the right paths for his names sake”, which at times may be in the valley of the shadow of death! But even in the valley, we will be comforted, knowing He is there with us, leading and guiding us.
The bible says in Deuteronomy 31:6b
“he will never leave us nor forsake us.”
Isaiah 41:10:
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
What we have to remember is that God is for us. He is cheering us on, wanting us to live the life He has called us to.
When I think of what God is like, I think of a father and mother, looking at their child for the first time, eyes filled with tears and so overwhelmed with love for their child. That is a glimpse of the heart God has for us. Knowing that, do you think He has anything happen to us that is just an accident?
Psalm 91
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
“Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
I really have no idea what is going to happen tomorrow. Heck, I don’t even know what’s going to happen today! But I do know I am safe. I am safe in my shepherd’s arms, covered under His wings of protection, resting under the shadow of the Almighty, knowing that no matter what happens, He is with me.
With that, I can have the peace knowing I am safe and you can too.
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