Our guest blogger today is Jeff Gronski, an elder at Light of Christ Church. He writes:
Difficulties of life can be overcome with the help of the Lord. Some of the difficulties people struggle with are spiritual oppression, demonic bondage, family curses, past abuse, chronic illness, abandonment, rejection, loneliness, repeated failures and phobias. I needed healing from emotional flashbacks. If you have a flashback of fear that brings on anxiety. If you have a flashback of pain it can make you angry. I had a flashback of despair which brought on abandonment, loneliness and left me feeling numb.
Before I was healed, it was easy for people to push my buttons. My past was filled with emotional failures which helped form these buttons. But after I was healed spiritually by the Lord, these buttons became non-functional and went away.
You see, what happened in the past can affect what is happening in the present. This is cause and effect. Once the Lord healed me, it became much more difficult for people to press my buttons. The Lord fixed my button issues. When the Lord brought emotional healing, it taught me many things. As I learned to forgive the present-day people who treated me poorly, I could finally forgive the people in my past who treated me in the same way.
Problems in life’s journey will either hinder you or strengthen you. When people used to press my buttons, my anxiety level would go up and my ability to love would go down. When I was filled with anxiety, I couldn’t be who God designed me to be.
As God healed me, I could define myself as a child of God. Who am I? That is right, I am a child loved by God. That became the foundation of my life.
Jonah had received an assignment to preach to his enemies. These people had attacked Israel and killed fellow countrymen. If that wasn’t enough, then they levied high taxes on the population. Jonah didn’t want them saved, he most likely thought God should kill them. So, Jonah ran the other way, but God pursued him. God gave him time to think in the belly of a great fish. There Jonah healed enough to go and preach.
But after the Ninevites repented, Jonah was angry. He had hoped that God would destroy these people. Again, God pursued Jonah and used this as a teaching moment. This was an opportunity to see who he perceived as an enemy through God’s eyes. This was an opportunity for God to continue to heal Jonah’s emotions.
Where is God pursuing you to heal and make you whole? How does God desire to use your healed self to make a difference in His Kingdom? Remember to look to the word when you face struggles for strength and wisdom. James 1:12, says, “ Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.“
To hear more of the story of Jonah click here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/series/journey-with-jonah-1/jonahs-anger
For more teaching on Jonah check these podcasts out:
The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Jas 1:12). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.