MORE POWER THAN YOU THINK

DAY 129

There are many things in life over which we have little or no control – the way other people choose to behave, natural laws or disasters among others. Contrary to much popular belief however, our emotions do not form part of this list.

This might sound counter intuitive, but our emotions are an outward expressions of internal happenings and processing. Our verse of focus today found in John 14:27 reads “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

By definition, let means ‘to permit or make it possible for something to happen through a specific action or lack of action.’ This verse is of interest because the word used at creation when God said ‘let there be’ or ‘let us make’, is the same one we read about.

By inference, you have control over what responses your heart offers back in the face of trouble and fear. In fact, you have to give permission for your heart to be troubled or afraid. Let that sink in for a moment. We may have witnessed bursts of emotion at different times that appeared to overwhelm us and break out of control but we have David teaching us how this principle works when he says “Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me?(Ps 42:5a)

In other words, I have not given you permission to be cast down when the joy of the Lord is your strength. We have a lot more power over our responses to situations than we have been made to believe.

#sly