God's mission doesn't require us to stuff our emotions.
Can I be honest with you?
If I told you that I struggle with anger, selfishness, impatience, and covetousness, could we still be friends?
Is it okay in your church to confess to your actual sins—or is the expectation that we're all pretty good people here? When you're around Christians, do you experience people who are trying to look good? Or do you sense openness, vulnerability, and realness?
Rich Villodas, in his book *The Deeply Formed Life*, writes:
"Oftentimes our prayers are, Lord, show us your glory. It's the great prayer of Moses in Exodus 33:18. But to complement that prayer, we need David to show us the way. We also need to be praying, Lord, show me me. Most of us want an awareness of God. But what we need in addition is awareness of self. David affirmed that God knows it all, so he asked for revelation not of God but of himself. The disposition of David's heart was to go beneath the surface."
Sometimes I get excited about God's mission because it focuses my attention away from myself. Instead of dealing with my anger, I can think about God. Instead of processing my anxiety, I can think about what someone else needs. Instead of acknowledging my insecurities, I can read my Bible.
This course isn't about how to become emotionally healthy. But emotional health is part of God's mission. Because God loves me. And because God loves you. God's mission extends to the very depths of who we are. He intends to renovate the interior places of our lives so that we are whole.
There's a saying, "hurt people hurt people." I think the converse is true: **"Restored people restore people."**
So what's your plan to become emotionally healthy? For me, I see a counselor about once a month. I practice vulnerability with trusted friends. I journal about my struggles. I go for walks and pay attention to beauty in God's creation. I read and pray the Psalms. Most mornings, I go to the gym. I have a lot of work to do, but those are some of the steps I'm taking.
For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God's love, and to know Christ's love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Is it safe to be emotionally honest in your Christian community? Why or why not?
What emotions or struggles do you tend to avoid rather than process?
What's your plan for becoming emotionally healthy?
Pray: 'Lord, show me me.' Ask God to reveal areas of your heart that need his healing touch.
Write down 2-3 practices you will commit to for emotional health (counseling, journaling, exercise, etc.).
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