Feeling Our Way through a Minefield of Emotions
I don’t know about you, but I sometimes I think my feelings and emotions are like this old telephone
exchange. I’ve got all the right wires, but somehow, a few wires have got crossed, some cables are plugged into the wrong sockets, and some of the network is totally missing! Am I stuck with this emotional turmoil? Glory to God, no.When we think of the Simon Peter of the gospels, with his intense reactions, his reflex responses, and his misguided outbursts of angry words, we can barely identify him with the Simon Peter of the Book of Acts! What caused his dramatic transformation? Charles Wesley answers with these precious words in one of his hymns:
- “Love only can the conquest win, the strength of sin subdue, mine own unconquerable sin, and form my soul anew.”
And, as Paul writes in the book of Romans:
- “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” (Romans 12.2, Living Bible)
Jesus’ love reshapes, reforms, and refines the chaos of our emotions. We are the Lord’s workmanship; together we are learning what it means to be a Christian.
Are we Locked into a Life Script which is Inescapable?
Modern child psychology tells teachers that all children are born with the same intelligence (unless they have a learning disability) but not with the same opportunities. Childhood trauma, abuse, malnourishment, relationship breakdown and the effects of poverty frustrate growth to the child’s full potential. Some say that our life script is formed by the time we are seven years old – the rest of our life is then about living out what’s indelibly written inside us.
These famous words by Shakespeare (right) make us realise that in many ways our life, in this world, is already mapped out for us, and we are just following a previously written screenplay.
These famous words by Shakespeare (right) make us realise that in many ways our life, in this world, is already mapped out for us, and we are just following a previously written screenplay.
You are Written in the “Book of Life”
The Bible tells us there is an alternative. God can write us into the Book of Life. This is not just the list of all who are saved, and will live forever in paradise with Jesus…… it is also a most wonderful script.
The Lord had a plan for Peter’s life, full of joy and love; full of meaning and purpose; full of an unbreakable and unfading relationship with Jesus. He had written the wonderful first and last page of what awaited Peter. Will you trust Him? Surrender your life to the God who is love, and step off the treadmill…..
Trevor