Let the Wrestling Begin…

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Let the wrestling begin…

Wrestling with emotions is hard work!  Especially if you are a person who in the past never really gave yourself permission to feel, acknowledge, or express emotion. Sometimes emotion can feel like unchartered territory. Today, I want to encourage you wherever you are in your life journey, to give yourself permission to feel emotion. Don’t ignore it. Don’t dismiss it. Don’t justify being “strong”. Don’t keep those thick walls of protection up. Feel. Breathe. Release. Express. Acknowledge.  Let yourself be in a safe space to say “It’s ok. It’s ok to embrace what’s happening inside. It’s ok to look at what I’m feeling and not turn away. My feelings do matter.  I have emotions for a reason. My emotions are my body’s way of talking to me. I will stop and listen. I won’t just hide behind walls anymore.”  These aren’t easy things to say to ourselves, let alone convince ourselves to do and believe. But they are true. Emotions are a gift from God. They are indicators of things happening under the surface of our hearts. They are the “dashboard lights” telling us that there is something under the hood that needs attention.  Friends, if we don’t take time to listen to our own hearts, who will do it for us?  Not taking time to acknowledge what is bubbling up under the surface only robs you of peace, contentment, joy, rest…and it also robs your other relationships of those things too.  Be brave.  Create time and space to sit with yourself and start asking some questions.  I know it can feel like a scary place. To face the unknowns for fear of being trapped there or actually having to deal with hard uncomfortable things.  But friend, you won’t do it alone. Jesus is right there waiting for you. He wants to walk through the emotions with you. Processing with Jesus is HOPE filled!  He never leaves you empty.  And coming out on the other side of those emotions that we wrestle with, is more than worth it. Freedom is worth it. Peace is worth it. Healing is worth it. Restoration is worth it. Being able to reconnect with others and yourself is worth it.

Jesus says He will never leave you nor forsake you in Hebrews 13:5. That means we NEVER wrestle alone. The One who knows you better than YOU do will walk through the process with you, and bring light and truth to the source of those emotions and why they are there. He already knows. He sees the things in your heart that you’ve tried to bury and ignore. The things that have been there for years. None of it is unknown to Him. 1 Chronicles 28:9 says, “for the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you.”  Psalms 139:1-2 says,  “O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.”  He gets you. He sees the depths of your heart cry. Your heart’s disappointments. Your heart’s fears. Your heart’s loss. Your heart’s anger.  Your heart’s abandonment. Your heart’s offense. Your heart’s pain. Your heart’s unmet expectations. And He is ready to meet you right there. He’s ready to take all the emotion and pain. He says, “Cast ALL your cares upon Me, for I care for YOU.” 1 Peter 5:7.  “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:30.  

Friend, we just have to be willing.  If we do our part, He never fails to do His. I challenge you today to wrestle your emotions out with Jesus. The weariness, the heaviness, the load your heart is carrying.  He can only work with what we are willing to present to Him. But when we do, He lifts that load and carries it.  Not only that, but when we begin to sit with Him and ask Him the questions, He also reveals the source of those emotions. He wants to dig into the root. The place. The time. The experience. The lie. Where the pain all began. Because when we can get to the source, He can bring truth there. Truth that brings healing. Healing that brings life. Renewed life. Resurrected life. Pain is an indicator that there’s a wound. Unhealed wounds fester. Jesus wants to touch the wound with His healing salve. He knows the exact place of the wound, how big it is, how deep it is, and how to heal it. His Spirit is our guide, teacher, counselor and exposes the source. We just have to take the time to sit with him and ask the questions. Lay it all out there. Take the walls down. Be vulnerable with ourselves. You are safe with Jesus. You don’t have to protect yourself because He wants to be your protector. He calls us to trust Him, even when we don’t see the outcome.

So, you may be thinking, “I don’t even know where to start.”  That’s ok! That’s why you’re reading this blog!  Let’s walk through it together. It’s not hard, but it does take intentionality and a willingness to try. Jesus is waiting for you. He is so gentle and kind and doesn’t require perfection. Just real, raw honesty. That’s our part. So find a quiet space without distractions (put your phone away), grab a journal and a pen, maybe turn on some worship music, take a deep breath, let it out slowly, and let’s go sit with Jesus.

1. Honesty.  Start with a prayer of surrender and being honest with Jesus. He already knows.  

Jesus, I come to you just as I am today with all the stuff I’ve been carrying. I don’t fully understand it all, but I feel the weight, the heaviness, the resistance, the friction that these emotions/feelings are causing. Just being honest Lord, today I am feeling________________________________________. (list out all the emotions you are currently experiencing). I don’t want to be stuck in this place. Emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. This is exhausting Jesus. I can’t continue like this. It’s taking too great of a toll. I come to you fully surrendered. I give you every part of my soul. My heart, emotions and will. I invite you to come and help me understand what is going on with my heart and the root cause. I want you to help me excavate my heart. Uproot any wrong belief systems. Expose all lies. Holy Spirit come and shine your light on my soul and illuminate the things I need to see and know in the spirit and the deeper layers of my heart.

  2.        Reveal. Let’s take a few minutes now, to sit with Holy Spirit and ask Him a few questions.  

We want to wait upon Him for clarity and divine revelation. If He shows you anything at all, even if it seems small or insignificant, write down what you may experience. It could be a picture, a memory, a word that you see or hear, a scripture verse,  something impressed upon your heart. It could be anything.  Jesus speaks in many different ways.

Holy Spirit, I invite you to come and speak to my heart and reveal to me what I need to see or know. In Jesus name I silence the voices of the enemy and his lies. I silence my own thoughts, and I invite you Holy Spirit to expose anything within me that needs healing and reveal your truth to me. Is there anything Holy Spirit that you want me to see or know? Would you show me where all these negative emotions are coming from that I’ve been carrying? Where is the deeper root that these things are coming from? Bring the root into the light Holy Spirit. Show me what you want me to see.

(Now spend a few minutes sitting and waiting upon Him with your eyes closed and maybe even with a worship song playing. Let Him in. Welcome Him to come and speak. Be patient. He’s right there with you.)

3.          Release.  Ok, let’s now take a moment to present all those negative emotions to Jesus and fully release them over to Him. If the Holy Spirit showed you a particular memory of something from your past, don’t be afraid to navigate into it a little more and ask more questions. “What lies did this memory create at the time it happened, that I have carried with me into the present? The hurt, pain or offense caused me to believe WHAT about myself, family, friend, or God that wasn’t true?” Holy Spirit, would you reveal Truth to me in the middle of the area of pain I’ve been carrying? Would you show me the wound you want to heal and how it’s caused me to live out of a broken lens? What do you want me to release to you? What do I need to let go of?  Who do I need to forgive in order to be free from the hurt?”  As He begins to reveal the answers to some of these questions, write them out in your journal.  Now, by faith, let’s lay them out there before Jesus, and out of obedience and trust, commit to letting go. Envision Jesus standing in front of you with eyes full of love, and see yourself  handing over to Him all the negative emotions, all the lies, all the hurt, all the offense that was done to you, and even handing over to Him the people that caused the wounds and hurt. Every person that inflicted hurt, whether known or unknown. Hand each one over to the hands of Jesus. He sees it all. He knows the situations that weren’t fair. The disappointments, the ones who failed you, that abandoned or betrayed you. He knows. He says, Come and give them all over to me today. Don’t wait. I have freedom for your heart. Release them. Release them all. Let go and let Me. I have more for you. More than you can imagine. My peace, My love, My joy, My contentment. My plans for you are to prosper you and give you Hope and an abundant future. Leave it all in my hands today. You weren’t created to carry the heaviness. I am here for you. I’ve never left you. I want to exchange all of that today and give you my intimate and personal love. My love casts out all fear. My love is abundant and never ceases. It never runs out. It never leaves. It never lets go of you. My love covers and protects. My love fights for you. My love gives you identity and purpose. My love is safe. You are safe with Me. My daughter, My son…you are mine.

4.        Receive and Rest. The next step is to receive by faith. The key words are BY FAITH. Believing that Jesus is there with you can be hard if we are too focused on the things that overwhelm us. But it doesn't change the truth that He IS there with you. Matthew 7:11 says, "How much more does your Father in

 heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him?” He wants to extend His love and truth to you. Tell Him you receive all He has for you by faith, and trust that He will. He is calling you to come near to Him and allow Him to embrace you, to hold you, to love you. Not because you have to perform and “be perfect”.  He loves you just the way you are. He calls you to come and rest with Him. Just like a loving parent picks up their child when they are hurt and embraces them to let them know it’ll be ok, to comfort them, to let them know they are safe. That’s the kind of rest He wants you to experience with Him. Crawl up in your heavenly Father’s lap today and let Him speak to your heart with His warm comforting yet strong voice that is tender towards you, and encounter Him. His love never fails. He wants to sing over you and speak truth to your heart and mind, so that you can walk out your days with peace and confidence, knowing He has your back. When it seems that everything else lets you down, He won’t. Romans 8:31,  “If He is for you, who can be against you?” Allow yourself to be drawn into Him today. Quiet your heart, and listen to your Father. Freedom, healing, and peace is yours if you choose to receive it.

If you need help working through these issues, please reach out through our website to a team member of your preference. We would love to come alongside you!