In Faithful Feelings, Matthew Elliot offers a clear summary about emotions: Emotion is always about something; it has an object. Emotion tells us about our values and beliefs. It can also tell us about the beliefs and values of others. Emotions are not necessarily rational, not because they are intrinsically irrational impulses, but because we […]
The First Step of the Journey
Naming and describing the evil done to you does not ensure automatic personal healing. However, it does provide clarity regarding sexual assault, and it allows for acknowledgment. If sexual assault is not defined, named, or described, then it remains hidden. Telling the truth about sexual assault by acknowledging the traumatic experience is one important aspect […]
Jesus Entered Her Pain
However, there was one who later came and entered her pain and shame [II Sam. 13:1-22]. Jesus Christ was killed, not for revenge but to bear her shame on the cross and to offer her a new robe of righteousness to replace her torn robes of disgrace. How Tamar felt after the assault, described in […]
Specific Strategies to Try Pt. 2
11. Since the label “depression” cannot capture the complexity of your experience, what other words (especially words that can be keyed to Scripture) more concretely capture what is going on in your heart? 12. Get help. Ask a few people to pray for you and speak the truth to you. When you ask for prayer, […]
Specific Strategies to Try Pt. 1
The following list contains homework assignments and specific strategies that have been helpful for some people. Take one biblical story, read it every day, and write down ten (or more) applications of it. (The basic idea with this assignment, and some of the others that follow, is that you want depressed people to meditate on […]
What Is In Our Heart
Here are a series of questions we can ask to discover what is in our heart. What do you love? What do you hate? What do you want, crave, hope for? What is your goal? What do you fear? What do you worry about? What do you feel like you need? Where do you find […]
Encouragement
“Encouragement gives struggling people the eyes to see an unseen Christ” (Paul Tripp and Tim Lane, Relationships a Mess Worth Making, p 113)
the bodily presence of a brother
“The believer therefore lauds the Creator, the Redeemer, God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for the bodily presence of a brother. The prisoner, the sick person, the Christian in exile sees in the companionship of a fellow Christian a physical sign of the gracious presence of the triune God. Visitor and visited in loneliness recognize […]
Things Have Become Necessary To Us
“This is not a mere metaphor, but an accurate analysis of our real spiritual trouble. There is within the human heart a tough fibrous root of fallen life whose nature is to possess, always to possess. It covets ‘things’ with a deep and fierce passion. The pronouns ‘my’ and ‘mine’ look innocent enough in print, […]