“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]”
Matthew 11:28
“But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).”
Galatians 5:16
“Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you, casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.”
1 Peter 5:6, 7
“And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life?”
Matthew 6:27
I am content and emotionally stable
“Godliness accompanied with contentment (that contentment which is a sense of inward sufficiency) is great and abundant gain.”
1 Timothy 6:6
One of the greatest things God has done in my life is helping me become emotionally stable and consistently content. It was a long journey and I admit that it was not easy, but nothing is more tormenting than being controlled emotionally by outside forces. I look back and realize how much time and energy I wasted over the years being upset over things that I could not do anything about.
Dave and I spent many years with very limited finances and each time something happened that was unexpected, like an appliance repair, car repair, medical bill, or higher than usual utility bill, my first response was always to get upset and start saying all kinds of foolish things. I said things like, “We will never have any money, because something always happens to steal it,” or “Nothing ever works out for us so why even try?” Dave, who is Mr. Content and Stable, tried to encourage me, but I always let my emotions rule.
Dave said things like, “Thank God we had the money to take care of this unexpected bill,” or “Everything will be okay because God loves us and has a good plan for us.” Deep down inside I knew he was right and that my behavior was childish, but I had very bad habits that ruled me in this area.
I grew up in an unstable household with people who always let circumstances control their moods, but Dave grew up with a godly mom who remained positive in the midst of great trials. Dave’s mom gave me my first Bible and in the front cover she wrote Psalm 37:5, “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He will bring it to pass.” She obviously knew the value of remaining calm and letting God work.
Interestingly, my family’s natural circumstances were much better than Dave’s were, but our attitudes were much worse.
My parents owned their home, both had good jobs, their health was good, and they saved a little money. In comparison, Dave’s circumstance was very needy. Most of their clothing was given to the family by people that Dave’s mom cleaned house for. His dad died when he was sixteen and left his mom with eight children to provide for. They lived in a three-room apartment that had a basement room, but they knew God’s love and their mom gave them a great example of contentment and stability. We don’t have to let our circumstances control our moods unless we choose to.
In every aspect of life, Jesus is our example-and Jesus was emotionally stable. The Bible actually refers to Him as “the Rock,” and we can depend on Him to be solid, steady, and stable-the same-all the time, always faithful, loyal, mature, and true to His Word. In fact, Hebrews 13:8 tells us that He is the same “yesterday, today, and forever.” In other words, He is not in one kind of mood one day and in another mood the next day. We can count on Him to be the same today as He was yesterday and the same tomorrow as He is today. Being able to depend on Jesus’ stability and consistency is part of what makes a relationship with Him seem attractive to us.
Part of the appeal of stability and contentment is the fact that they enable us to enjoy our lives. None of us really like to have moments or days when emotions sink and we sit around in self-pity, filled with negative thoughts. We don’t enjoy ourselves when we are in that condition and no one else enjoys us either. Being in close relationship with anyone who is discontent, not dependable, and moody is extremely difficult. We can spend all of our time trying to keep them happy instead of being free to enjoy our own lives unless we realize we are not helping them by catering to their moods.
I have discovered that I like myself better when I am stable and consistent, and I believe the same is true for you. Becoming emotionally stable and consistent are so important to a powerful life, and as you grow in these qualities, you’ll find yourself strengthened as never before.
The pathway to change is to renew your mind. I had to begin believing that I could be content and stable before I actually saw the fruit of it in my life. I studied contentment quite often and read a lot of material on emotions. I began to think and say that I was content and emotionally stable. God’s word states that we can and should call things that are not as if they already existed (see Romans 4:17). When we have faith in our heart, we think and talk faith. We see the thing done by faith before we see it in reality. In this way we cooperate with God in the spiritual realm. We reach into the realm of the spirit with our thoughts and words and draw things out of it into the realm we live in.
Think about It
On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate your own emotional stability and contentment?
