Following on from last week when we looked at Reclaiming our Identity, today we’ll look at reclaiming our wellbeing, then reclaiming our power and we’ll finish with reclaiming our Purpose. 

A huge part of our well-being is our emotions and how we handle them. We all have emotions and they’re not good or bad, the emotions themselves are neutral. It’s how we handle them that makes them positive or negative. God created us with emotions because He has emotions. We see it throughout the bible and in the life of Jesus in particular. He wasn’t a robot walking around without any feelings, he had compassion on those who were suffering, he got angry with those who were distracting people from following God, he wept when his friend died. 

Jesus fully experienced life as a human. Hebrews 4:15

‘We do not have a high priest who is unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin.’

In all his emotions Jesus remained sinless. Therefore we are not aiming to feel less but to sin less by handling our emotions in a godly way. 

Our emotions are the feelings we experience as we encounter various situations in life and these emotions lead to changes in our behaviour and physiology. 

Unhealthy ways to handle our emotions are either suppression, which leads to feeling unhealthy ourselves or indiscriminate expression, which is unhealthy for those around us and usually those closest to us. 

Emotions can act as a gauge about what is really going on in our hearts so even what are seen as negative emotions can be seen as positive if we learn to respond to them in a healthy way. 

Possible causes for emotional dysfunction can be because of 

Family – we can have difficulties in our upbringing or instability in the family home we see both of these in the story of Joseph in Genesis. 

Church – can cause emotional dysfunction where there isn’t authenticity or a culture of fear and control. 

Trauma – such as a betrayal, abuse or neglect. Or a physical trauma such as a car accident.

Chemistry – related to chemical imbalance or hormones. Don’t be ashamed of getting help if this is the case. God gives us doctors with skills in order to help us and medication can be a valuable step in finding stability. 

Apparent negative emotions can indicate there’s something going on in our hearts. Anger can reveal a blocked goal, and anxiety can reveal my fears. They might reveal a need to repent or they can reveal a lie we’ve been believing, or maybe there’s unforgiveness that has taken route in our hearts. 

Our neighbours had an underground stream running through their garden which they had stopped flowing under their house. So it didn’t affecting their property. But the water has to go somewhere! So it diverted through our garden and was bubbling up where we’d had some concrete removed. We had a choice, we could divert it again by laying more concrete! Or we could deal with it by giving it a route to go that would be helpful and mean that it doesn’t affect anyone else. 

This image is really helpful to visualise exactly what happens when we suppress emotions. It has to come out somewhere and often it comes out in the relationships of those we’re closest to. 

In order to move on we need to start by acknowledging our emotions, face up to them and be honest with ourselves. 

Then we need to process and express those emotions and feelings. Ask yourself why you’re feeling this way, what has triggered it. Express them to God, I find journaling really helpful for this. 

The last step in the process is to actually fight. Martyn Lloyd Jones said ‘Have you realised that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?’ We need to take control or as it says in 2 Corinthians 10:5 we take every thought captive. 

We don’t stay in a victim mentality, we take control and redirect our thoughts. As it says in Philippians 4:8 we need to choose to fix our minds on whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 

In doing this we will learn what Paul learnt, He says in Philippians 4:12-13 – I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Recently I’ve been asked to put together some talks for a local Christian Radio station and thought that I would like to share them with you in the hope that you will find them helpful.

Over the next four weeks I’m going to look at the different ways we can Reclaim our relationship with God. Today we’ll be looking at Reclaiming our Identity, then reclaiming our well-being, next reclaiming our power and we’ll finish with reclaiming our Purpose. 

So let’s start with reclaiming our Identity. We can spend a lot of time trying to figure out who we are and where we fit. We use the world’s measures. Looking at other people to tell you who you are and define you, allow your parents to tell you who you are or even googling it. If you google the question ‘who am I?’ you get 25 billion 270 million search replies in less than a second! Isn’t that crazy? I can’t even get my head around that number of answers. Without God we’re groping in the dark for the answers to this question.

The bible teaches us that we are made in the image of God. 

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female. – Gen 1:27

 We are now found hidden in Jesus, seen by the Father as righteous because of the price he paid. 

…your life is hidden with Christ in God – Colossians 3:3

You may have heard that before but have you allowed that to sink in? It matters how you speak about yourself out loud and in your head because you are an image bearer of God!

Ultimately we’re seeking the answer to the fundamental questions of Am I accepted? Am I secure? And Am I significant?

In Eden Adam and Eve had all these answered through their relationship with God. After the fall the separation from God brought these questions about. We find instead of Acceptance – rejections, instead of Security – fear and anxiety, and instead of Significance – guilt and shame. 

The good news is that our relationship with God that was broken in the Garden of Eden has been restored. Jesus lived the perfect life that we couldn’t and restored the relationship for us by taking the punishment we should have faced. These can be read as cold facts, knowledge for your head. But if you allow them to penetrate into your heart they will change your life. 

The big question is how to get these facts from head to heart? How do you get this to go from facts that you know to a truth that you revel in? 

I wish I could tell you there was a magic pill I could give you or a quick fix. The facts change in a moment, that’s justification. But sanctification, the becoming more like Jesus takes a lifetime, until we meet him when we are glorified. Given new bodies and continue our eternity in His presence without pain, sickness or sadness. 

The best way to start this journey after you have surrendered to Jesus is to invite the Holy Spirit into your life. He is our partner and best friend in this journey called life. 

John 14:26 But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. – ESV

My own experience is that I only need to take a step towards Him and he is eager to meet me. 

God has chosen us to be temples of His Holy Spirit. When I think of a temple I find the thought abstract and hard to relate to. I relate better to the verses in 2 Corinthians 4:7

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 

The thought that we are jars that hold His presence feels more tangible and then I can really picture the description of Psalm 23:5

You anoint my head with oil and my cup overflows.

Who are you? Who am I? A mortal body carrying an immortal Spirit. The dwelling place of the living God, the creator of the universe who wants a relationship with you so much that he will live in your jar of clay and mould you, shape you and bless you to overflowing. Doesn’t that blow your mind?! 

Reclaim your identity by getting to know the one who made you and knows everything about  you.