What Do You Turn To?

My husband and I went to a concert recently, and as we were listening to the band I noticed the lady sitting in front of me.
She was...big.
Not obese, but big enough that she needed her seat and the one next to it in order for her to be seated comfortably.
I'm ashamed to confess that I had judgemental thoughts about her size.
I'm sure you never do anything like that, but I did.
Guilty.

Anyway, as soon as I had those thoughts, the Holy Spirit pricked my conscience, reminding me that I am no different.
I don't know that lady personally, but unless she has a medical condition she probably got that way because she found that eating makes her feel better.
About herself, about her life, about her losses.

You see, we all turn to something to make ourselves feel better.
We all have something we turn to instead of turning to God.
That thing we turn to when we're feeling bad is the thing we have chosen to replace God.

What do you do when life gets tough?
Perhaps you shop.
Perhaps you drink.
Perhaps you eat...or refuse to eat.
Maybe you run or read romance novels or watch too much tv.

We were created to take care of ourselves - we listen to our body and respond with giving it the thing it needs.
When we're hungry, we eat.
When we're thirsty we drink.
When we're tired, we sleep.

But what about when we are feeling other stuff?
What do we do when we feel rejected?
What do we do when we are feeling unloved?
What do we do when we feel like a failure?

It's not so easy to satisfy those feelings, is it?
Living in the fallen world that we do, these are the issues we have to deal with.

It's natural for us to want to stop feeling discomfort, but these negative feelings aren't so easy to deal with.
There are reasons why you may feel rejected and unloved.
Perhaps it stems from something that happened when you were little, or just recently.
Maybe you were unloved as a child, and the pattern of rejection occured all through your life, still affecting you today?

We learn, sometimes quite early in life, that certain behaviours or activities can lessen the pain we feel inside. Administering those behaviours doesn't heal the pain, but it certainly relieves it...at least for a little while.
We realise that we can stifle the voices of the past.

The problem is that those behaviours won't ever make you better.
God won't allow them to.
He wants to use the pain you are feeling to drive you to Him.
It's only in relationship with Him that you will find healing, forgiveness, and acceptance.

Coming to God and making Jesus your Saviour isn't about losing your life...it's about finding life.
Jesus didn't just die and rise again so you can have eternal life...He did it so you can live in freedom here on earth too.

A bientot,
XRebecca