I was reading Ezekiel 20. Over and over the Lord said that He was going to judge them because of their rebellion. Here is an example of His longsuffering. Verse 14 says, “But I acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out.”

I encourage you to read the whole chapter. It makes me think about our country. He laid a foundation of righteousness. He set men in places of authority who honored His word. Verse 11 is a timeless verse. It says, “And I gave them My statutes and showed them My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them.”

Paul wrote Romans 1:17. It is another timeless truth. It says of the gospel, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

We are saved by faith. Our faith is tested through fiery trials. The Lord orchestrates them so that the intensity exposes any hidden dross that would weaken our faith.

I think of the hymn, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases…” Lamentations 3:22 says, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.” The Hebrew word for mercy is hesed. It means covenant or steadfast love.

Psalm 36:10 says, “Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright in heart.” Heart idols are a trap that keep us from intimate communion with the Lord.

Our journey of progressive sanctification conforms us to His image. The pressures of our trials, temptations, and adversities are God’s refining tools. Think of one who creates sculptures from rocks. They have to chisel away what blocks the image they are wanting to create.

Jeremiah 1:5 says that the Lord knew us before He formed us in the womb. He uses all of our life’s experiences. Nothing is in vain. He uses them to work His will into every aspect of our lives. He is conforming us to represent Himself to those around us. Heart idols opaque and cloud the testimony of His grace.

After my 1/2/17 brain injury I could not read. My eyes were out of round. I created what I called warfare art. It became my Bible. Here is one that the Lord gave me. It is an acronym for stability. 

Steadfast

Truth

Always

Believing

Increasing 

Love

Intentionally

Trusting

You

James 1:8 says that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. I’m reading through the book of Ezekiel. In chapter 14 the Lord addressed the elders of Israel. Verse 4 says, “Everyone…who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him, what causes him to stumble into iniquity…”

Anything that we set our affections on instead of the Lord, becomes a trap that will lead us into sin. It will contaminate our heart and lead us astray. Verse 5 says, “That I may seize their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.”

Where are your affections? What do you turn to when you are stressed? Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Earthly affections are temporary. 

Why do folks get angry, disappointed, disillusioned, or frustrated? The simple answer is that someone blocked their goal. They had an expectation that was not met. When our expectations are placed on another or circumstances, they are misplaced.

Job lost everything within a very short amount of time. Were his goals blocked? He loved his children and covered them spiritually through prayer. He had great wealth. Job 1:22 says, “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.”

David wrote Psalm 16. Verse 8 says, “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.” When we set the Lord before us in anything that we do, our faith will remain strong because He is Faithful.

Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Setting goals will help keep us in focus. Let’s check in with the Lord before we do anything ~ making our next step based on His will according to Scripture.

The Lord is our Provider. He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. 2 Peter 1:3. Through our intimate communion with the Lord, He reveals His heart for us. We learn His ways are far higher than our own. Isaiah 55:9. 

I remember when I was in High School we held a VBS in our church. We daily taught the children how the Lord provides. Do you remember this chorus? “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the wealth in every mine…”

Psalm 50:10 says, “For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” The Lord provides for the critters He created. Psalm 104:27 says, “They all wait for You, that You may give them their food in due season.”

Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Psalm 145:14 says, “The Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down.” He supplies everything we need: physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

As Stephen was being stoned, he cried out with a loud voice. Acts 7:60. It says, “…Lord, do not charge them with this sin. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” Stephen’s last words were of forgiveness.

When we are disappointed, it is often because someone said they would do something and didn’t. If we allow that disappointment to fester, it will cause bitterness, resentment, anger ~ sickness will form. I have seen this over and over in my years of counseling. They continue to carry the emotional pain. God’s way is to release it in the moment through forgiveness.

Have you ever been disappointed with yourself, because you didn’t measure up to your own expectations? That negative barrage of thoughts causes us to spiral down into an emotional dark hole. Depression is often rooted in disappointments. 

Beware. Don’t bury your disappointments. Release them. Use them to refocus on the Lord. They are literally your past that passed. Don’t carry them into your present. They will entangle you and weigh you down. Hebrews 12:1 says to lay them aside.

A childhood hymn comes to mind as I think about disappointments. There is no disappointment in heaven. Disappointments are trials in this life only. They are signals that warn us that we got distracted. Our focus has been misplaced.

We never know what to expect. That is why our expectations need to be on the Lord’s character which never changes. Trials come suddenly and often without warning. James 1:3 says, “…when you fall into various trials.” 

I love David’s Psalm 62. It helps to center me. Verses 1-3 say, “Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.”

We fix our eyes on Jesus. Fix means to gaze intently, and not allow anything to distract us. Think of Stephen. The crowd was gnashing their teeth in rage. Acts 7:55 says, “But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven…”

2 Corinthians 3:18 says that as we gaze upon the Lord, inner transformation takes place. We take on His character.

In Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian carried a heavy burden on his back. It weighed him down. It dogged his steps. Then there was the scene where he rolled his burden at the foot of the cross. 

Proverbs 16:3 says. “Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.” The word ‘commit’ is illustrated through a note in my Bible. “The picture is of a camel, burdened with a heavy load; when the load is to be removed, the camel kneels down, tilts far to one side, and the load rolls off.” We relinquish through prayer.

1 Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” The Greek word for care is to divide the mind. The word denotes distractions, anxieties, burdens, and worries.”

2 Peter 1:3 says, “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.” ALL means no exception. Cast your burdens at His feet. He already bore them on the cross. Isaiah 53:4.

Our brain’s limbic system files every event that we have ever gone through, with our recorded emotions. Description from the Cleveland Clinic: it is a group of interconnected brain structures that help regulate your emotions and behavior. It works together with other brain regions by processing your memory, thoughts, motivations, then tell your body how to respond.

That brings Proverbs 4:23 to the front. It says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Unresolved issues harbor emotional pain, remain buried, and are not registered in our conscious mind.

However, they continually seep into our thought processes. That is why we negatively react to something in our present that reminds us of a past event. The emotions are triggered which instantly activate our sympathetic nervous system ~ or fight, flight, freeze. 

It is essential to release things from our past. They only exist in our mind. No way to change them. However we can stop carrying their heavy emotional baggage. It is over. Our past is passed. Let it go and embrace your present.