why don’t I feel God?
feelings, the unreliable barometer
the spirit, soul, and body connection
the mind and heart connection
the battleground of the mind
it builds character
lies are not harmless
truth sets us free
tearing down strongholds
establishing a stronghold of truth
training our hearts in truth
practical considerations
rabbit trail one: God’s word applies to me
rabbit trail two: God’s word is unfailing
We have been talking about tearing down strongholds of lies by building up strongholds of truth in their place. We talked about writing out the relevant Scriptures on 3×5 cards and keeping them close by during the day, to “take every thought captive” when those negative feelings rise up.
I did some additional Bible study as well when I was working on tearing down and building up strongholds. Let’s say someone, who has always struggled with feeling God is angry and watches for every little mistake to criticize, wanted to establish the stronghold “God loves me” in his heart. The first step would be to choose two or three relevant Scriptures, because by the mouth of two or three witnesses, let every fact be established, the Bible says.
God loves me: Joh 15:9, Rom 5:6-8, Rom 8:35-39
Study the first Scripture for 30 minutes a day, for five days. This hypothetical person will spend three weeks on three Scriptures, and if at the end of that time he is still struggling with the negative feelings from the stronghold of the lie, he can find three or four more Scriptures to do an additional three or four weeks of study. Most strongholds are demolished after three weeks, and I have never known any stronghold to withstand six weeks of study, six weeks of consistent assault, six weeks of taking every thought captive. Most people, if they fail, do so because they are unwilling to be as self-controlled as taking every thought captive requires. They do not want to be free from the lie bad enough yet; they have not yet been convinced that believing that lie produces destruction in their lives.
Remember to not neglect using the Scriptures plugged into the truth trainer throughout the day as necessary, to take every thought captive when negative feelings rise up. This is key to success.
All that is left is getting out our Bible and a notebook to renew our minds and change our life!
Day One
- Write the truth title on the first line: God Loves Me
- Write the definition of the main words of the title from Webster’s dictionary: Loves: holds dear or cherishes; feels passion, devotion, or tenderness for; likes, desires, or takes pleasure in. Realize, then, that the truth God Loves Me really means, “God holds me dear and cherishes me; God feels devotion and tenderness for me; God likes me, desires me, and takes pleasure in me.” As hard as it is to believe at first, is not this what “God Loves Me” means? It is therefore the truth.
- Write out the Scripture to study: I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love. Joh 15:9
- Write out the scripture in the King James Version also. This will help with word studies later in the week.
- Realize that John 15:9 is really saying, “I have held you dear even as the Father has held Me dear; I have cherished you tenderly even as the Father has cherished Me tenderly.” Write this out if it will help you remember.
- Pray and ask the Holy Spirit, the Counselor and Teacher, to give you insight and to help you meditate on the truth of this Scripture throughout the day, and recognize when a lie is trying to assert itself.
thirty minutes a day, day two
thirty minutes a day, days three and four
thirty minutes a day, day five
there is too much, let me sum up
Can we work on more than one stronghold at a time or just one at a time?
I’ve worked on one at a time. You can try more than one, and see how it goes. But if you have trouble being a jack of all trades and master of none, drop down to one and go from there.