Dear Struggler,
I wanted to follow up on my e-mail from yesterday with a thought that might be of help to you.
The problem with people like you (People who have turned to me and rejected the world) is that even though you have made the decision to walk with me, your feelings often lag behind. You still feel the same way you did before you made the commitment to follow, only it’s worse now. Now those feelings are coupled with self-doubt, and confusion, and shame, and a host of other negative emotions. Remember this – those feelings did not come from me or our father.

As a matter of fact, if you noticed, I don’t address the issue of feelings too much except that they are unreliable. Don’t get me wrong, I like emotion – I created you to have them, remember. It’s just that with the influence of Satan, the struggles of life, and the constant conflict between the flesh and the spirit, feelings and emotions can deceive you. So instead of trusting your heart,
trust me.

I will remind you of what I had the Apostle John write down. Read it and be encouraged:

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

I know it sounds ironic, but in order to put your heart to rest, you have to understand that this gift I have given you – the gift of eternal life and love, cannot be enjoyed until you begin to look at people the same way I do. Take the focus off of yourself and put it other people. Follow my example and serve others in word and action and truth. Look for another struggler, identify her needs, and meet them.

I can assure you – it’s how I lived my life on earth, and my heart was always at peace. There were no exceptions.

Try me out on this. You’ll never regret it, and it won’t be long before those emotions that plague you will be a distant memory.

Oh, and remember this: I love you.

Your brother and Lord,
Jesus