Episode #344 Pausing to Praise in Relief – How to Bring Your Feelings to God

Hey, friend. Have you ever worked for somebody that just really didn't care about you as a person? Everything was action oriented and it was goals and objectives and execution. I'm not even saying that they were mean. I'm just saying they were really only focused on output. They didn't know anything about you or your life, and they didn't even really check in if it seemed like you were having an off day.

Now, if you've had a manager like that, I'm sorry, that is rough, but I'm thinking about that today because sometimes that's how we can view God. We can see him as a manager who's only really focused on our performance, our achievement, on how well we're progressing, on what we're getting done. We can put him in this box that says, “God doesn't really care about how I'm doing. God's not really interested in those aspects of my life.” But none of that is true about him. God cares about all of you. God cares about the things that you care about because you are his kid and he loves you.

And so we're in this series bringing our emotions to God because sometimes we just disqualify them as not spiritual. “God doesn't really care if I am anxious or tired or angry today. He's really looking at where I'm sinning and how I can get better.” But God cares about all of those things. He cares about you. You are his image bearer. And yes, he transforms us. Yes, he renews us. Yes, he convicts us and helps us choose differently. But we can negate opportunities to engage with him relationally because we misunderstand him.

And so today we're talking about bringing God gratitude and relief. And the reason that this is on my radar today is because I deal with chronic migraines. I am almost at the end of fixing this whole jaw TMJ issue. That's why I've been in braces for well over five years at this point. That's helped relieve a lot of the migraines that often would plague me, but not all of them.

So last night I actually had a building migraine and I woke up this morning and it was gone. I have relief. And if you've ever had a migraine, you know what sweet relief that is. Sometimes they can get so bad I've had auras where I have literal missing spots in my vision. Or I get nauseous and I have to lay not moving with blackout blinders on and all sorts of things to try and just make it through until the pain stops. But today I woke up without pain. And I was reflecting on how it's easy to turn to God in those moments of need, but not as often sometimes in the moments of relief that come afterward.

I'm gonna read for us from Luke 17. It's verses 11 through 19, and this is when Jesus heals somebody else in scripture. It says:

 "On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,[a] who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

This man came and gave thanks for the relief that he had received, and sometimes we remember to do that, right? But it's also possible to just embrace the relief and move on. I had a migraine that started yesterday and it messed up some of the work that I was wanting to get done. It messed up my activities. It definitely changed my afternoon and early evening. It's easy for me to realize, okay, I'm relieved of that pain. I'm moving forward to work now, I'm gonna catch up. And I could miss the opportunity to thank God for the relief that he's offered me.

This doesn't only apply to chronic pain, this can apply to a concern you had that's been relieved. Maybe a test that you weren't sure was gonna come back with good results and it did. It can be a worry that has been looming on the horizon that God has taken care of. Or a longing that you had that God has fulfilled.

So in this moment today, we're turning this conversation over to God. We're inviting him into the relief that we're experiencing with gratitude. To share it with him. “God, I am so grateful that this prayer's been answered, this need has been met.”

 And here's a question that you can take to him as you talk with him about it:

“God, remind me of a relief you've brought to me. How can this deepen my awareness and my gratitude for you?”

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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