Emotional health and maturity and spiritual health and maturity are inextricably linked. It is difficult, if not impossible to be a spiritually healthy person if you are not an emotionally healthy/mature person.
The emotionally mature are stable enough for spiritual formation to take place. They have a robust sense of who they are to be challenged without jumping ship. The emotionally healthy person can withstand the anxiety that is often necessary to grow spiritually.
The emotionally immature person, on the other hand, is going to resist everything it takes for them to grow spiritually. Understanding this can allow us to have motivation to endure times of trial and difficulty without jumping ship or being avoidant of the person, place or thing that causes us so much trouble because we know the very thing we don’t want might be best for us.
If you find yourself running from trouble, you also may find yourself stunted in your spiritual growth.
Take a deep breath and know that those things that are causing you so much worry might actually be the best things for you. You can’t always resolve the issue. Sometimes you just have to learn to be okay with it and allow that tension to grow your faith.
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One reason why the spiritual growth does not work well is because we have a terrible self-image. When a sermon is preached on “Loving your neighbor…” many words are spoken about what that might mean to your neighbor. I have seldom heard an explanation of what the second part means, “as yourself.”
When we refuse to acknowledge who WE are, and what loving self means, we will not grow.
When I hear Christians say, “We are sinners…, but saved sinners,” I cringe. By holding to an unbiblical self image, we will never be able to grow, or love as we should.
We invalidate the cross. We invalidate the price paid by both Father and Son. We ignore the presence of the Spirit within us.
Too often we look for “special” expectations of what the presence of the Spirit does in our daily lives. And when those expectations are not met, we are disappointed, and our self image takes another blow.
You can’t always resolve the issue. Sometimes you just have to learn to be okay with it and allow that tension to grow your faith.
I needed these words this morning.
You are exactly right. Sometimes there is no resolution to some of the issues but we can Always work on ourselves. Blessings