Feeling Better VS BEING Better
Ever have a deep, almost uncontrollable desire to escape uncomfortable feelings?
Yeah, me too.
But what if getting out of our uncomfortable feelings only creates MORE discomfort?
What if God cares more about you becoming better than feeling better?
This world has gotten way past instant gratification.
I'm getting increasingly frustrated watching people talk about basic discomfort as trauma. When I think about what our ancestors went through only two generations ago, what they would have considered trauma and what we consider trauma would be as far apart as the Pacific and Atlantic Coasts.
I'm not saying we don't have trials and tribulations. But I think we (and I am including myself here!) have FAR less bandwidth, perseverance, and resilience because we haven't needed to develop it.
Two of the biggest reasons we haven't needed to develop it, is it's way too easy to distract ourselves FROM our problems and it’s too easy in Western civilization to temporarily and/or practically fix our problems than to spiritually fix our problems.
Here’s an example of what I mean:
Having some anxiety? In a nanosecond we have the option of scrolling on a multitude of social media platforms, turning on one of a gazillion shows, videos, or podcasts, or hop on Amazon to distract ourselves from the discomfort.
It's so much easier to do that than to examine why we're anxious and work that whole mess out at the feet of Jesus. No judgment here, because I've done it myself.
The problem with this “solution” isn’t just the fact that we didn't fix the problem.
We avoid an opportunity for increased intimacy with Jesus.
And on the flip side of that we avoided a chance for increased sanctification.
Avoiding discomfort is avoiding sanctification.
Avoiding sanctification is not just a bad idea. It's an evil idea. It's a rebellious idea.
However it's a normal idea because we're human there's parts of us that always want to rebel from God and depend on ourselves
There are exactly ZERO verses in the Bible that tell us to try and feel better.
Why? Because God knows we need a HEART change, not a circumstance change.
God knows that to TRULY “feel” better we need to be MADE better, made more like Christ, and OFTEN God does that through our circumstances, not distraction from them.
Distraction doesn’t give you peace, for example. Only the presence of Christ can do that.
Here’s a whole list of verses to back up what I’m saying:
Romans 12:11 (NIV) – “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”
2 Peter 1:5–7 (NIV) – “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.”
1 Peter 5:8–9 (NIV) – “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…”
Ephesians 6:10–13 (NIV) – “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
James 4:7 (NIV) – “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
John 10:10 (NIV) – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Philippians 3:13–14 (NIV) – “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Hebrews 12:1–2 (NIV) – “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
James 1:2–4 (NIV) – “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
Romans 5:3–5 (NIV) – “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
Romans 12:12 (NIV) – “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Hebrews 10:36 (NIV) – “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”
I absolutely love these verses! They fire me up, they remind me that any suffering or discomfort that I experience has a purpose. God will use it in some way if I stay surrender to Him.
Don’t run from uncomfortable feelings. Engage in what I call the 5 P’s instead:
Prayer: Make this your first line of defense, not your last resort. The older I get the more I realize how powerful this is. Cover everyone and everything that's on your mind with the blood of Jesus in prayer.
Positioning: If it's easier to worry than worship you can bet that you started to position your problems in a higher place than God. Satan wants you to amplify your issues and minimize God's power. Don't let this happen. Keep God in the right position. Keep your face turned towards him at all times.
Perseverance: Refuse to give up. It doesn't matter if what you see hasn't changed yet. You may have been working on this for 14 weeks, 14 months, or 14 years… it doesn't matter.
Do. Not. Give. Up.
Purpose: Set joy before you. (Hebrews 12:2) Be completely convinced in your mind that God is going to glorify Himself through this situation. That He's going to bring tremendous good out of it. Trust Him completely that this has a purpose even if you can’t see it yet.
Praise: Thank Him ahead of time for all he's going to do. Honestly, I find this is where I get the most peace, encouragement, and strength to keep going. I thank Him ahead of time for all He's going to do through my circumstances.
The enemy wants you to seek comfort; God wants you to seek Christ.
One leads to numbness. The other leads to newness.
Don’t run from the refining fire, run to the Refiner.
When you engage in prayer, positioning, perseverance, purpose, and praise, you don’t just survive discomfort; you’re sanctified through it.
And that’s where transformation begins.💙
In passionate purpose,
Dorothy
Want to ignite more passionate purpose, even when life feels messy?
Grab my free 5-day devotional.