training our hearts in truth

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

If someone were to determine they had a stronghold of rejection in the core of their being, because they habitually struggled with feelings of resentment or bitterness, the truth that needs to be  established to dismantle that stronghold is “God accepts me.”

Let us first know what it means for God to accept us. “Accept,” from Webster’s dictionary, means, “to receive willingly or favorably; to give admittance or approval to;  to undertake or assume an obligation.”

There are many Scriptures which affirm that God accepts us, that God has received us willingly or favorably, that God has given us admittance into His presence, and that He approves of us, that He has undertaken our lives and assumed the obligation of our lives. A few of them are:

But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for He will receive me. Psa 49:15

But you, Israel, My servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
The offspring of Abraham, My friend;
You whom I took from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest corners,
Saying to you, “You are My servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off;” Isa 41:8-9

All who the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out. Joh 6:37

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give it to you. Joh 15:16

Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Rom 14:3

Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. Rom 15:7

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. Eph 1:3-6

When the negative feelings that have been habitual, such as rejection or  bitterness, rise up inside you during the day, that is your red flag that the stronghold of the lie is asserting itself. Plug one of the Scriptures that you have found to counter the lie into this truth trainer, designed to combat even the unconscious belief in the lie:

I feel __resentful__, but it is only a feeling brought on by my past. It is not a true reflection of my current reality. My reality is deter­mined by the Word of God, and this what it says: __All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out. John 6:37__.

Download the truth trainer graphic to keep on your phone

Say it out loud! Using the truth trainer consistently to combat the stronghold of the lie every time an ungodly feeling arises takes discipline, but it is the key to tearing down that stronghold and building up the new one of the truth. What is really happening is every thought is being taken captive, and being made to obey Christ. The thoughts which have been habitual are now being required to conform to the truth of Christ, rather than those thoughts conforming you to this world. If a person were to truly persevere in taking every thought captive, it would change them permanently.

practical considerations
rabbit trail one: God’s word applies to me
rabbit trail two: God’s word is unfailing
thirty minutes a day can change your life
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