Hello Friends!
Whether you’ve got one thing holding you back or you identify with all of these issues that author and counselor Nicole Unice discusses in the next pages, there's good news. Unice says you target and conquer issues that keep you from living free and confidently.
The message of She's Got Issues: Seriously Good News for Stressed-Out, Secretly Scared Control Freaks Like Us is that even ordinary issues like insecurity create oppression in our hearts, and only by getting honest about our real struggles can we discover the freedom that God offers.
There are three symptoms of an issue-laden heart. We can be blind to our own condition and have no idea how our issues hinder our ability to love.
We can find ourselves lacking compassion, an indicator that something is blocking us from engaging freely with others. Or we might struggle with conflict, lacking the ability to engage in healthy and constructive ways with those around us. Any of these are indicators that our hearts are weighed down with issues.
Anger is a silent shame for many women. But if you’ve recently spoken or acted out of anger in a way you’ve regretted or used sarcasm to make your point, you’ve acted on the emotion of anger. Hiding from it only makes it worse; instead, we must recognize the issue and face it straight on.
God is the creator of the emotion of anger, and He often uses it to create righteous indignation against injustice in the world. Dealing with our sinful anger is often about getting honest with God about the slights in our lives and asking Him to enter in on a case-by-case basis with our angry actions.
Fear. Most of us have met a painful enough experience somewhere in life to know what fear feels like. But we often struggle with what to do about it and how to get on with life, knowing that pain is real! Our fears can often mutate into a generalized sense of anxiety that can cripple our lives, keeping us seeking comfort and security rather than walking in faith.
Anxiety is God’s wakeup call that we need Him, and every time we feel anxious is a time to experience His peace.
Insecurity. Do you have a critical voice in your head, constantly judging your actions and relationships? Do you find yourself crushed by criticism and wounded by even the smallest slight? Insecurity is so common that most women accept it as normal. But God desires for women to be free of such a crushing self-focus. When we bring our insecurities into conversation with God, we often find that they are clues to the deepest longings of our hearts, and that God is ready to fulfill those desires.
Comparison. Do you often find yourself trying to measure up to a standard you set for the world? Do you struggle when you think life isn’t fair? Comparison is toxic to our souls, stealing our joy and wounding our ability to be truly happy when our friends succeed.
The antidote to a comparing heart is gratitude. Disciplining ourselves to open our eyes to God’s blessings—even when they aren’t exactly the ones we think we want—can help us move past comparison.
Culled from Beliefnet.
xoxo
Simply Cheska....
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