Hebrews 4:15 English Standard Version (ESV) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Sympathize, what a wonderful word. Jesus knows how we feel. Avoid the word temptation for a moment and think about the things that Jesus has said to us about our feelings. Fret not, fear not, and be anxious for nothing are instructions from Christ to help us deal with our negative emotions.

Yesterday I heard “But!” The truth is that each and every one of us have something that holds us back from being that person we want to be for God. Some of it is based on instructions that were put into place because others believe that without constraints we will choose wrong. How we were raised is a deep emotional base where we grew up in life. Some experiences are good, some are bad, and some are so horrible they are extremely dangerous to others.

“But!”

That is personal for each reader and must be dealt with in order to allow the truth to shine forth as God intends. Some of us need professional therapists, some need a pastor, some just need a friend but we all need Jesus who understands exactly how we feel. He abides in our hearts and knows best what is happening there.

The truth is that the abiding presence of the love of God changes us little by little in ways we might not instantly recognize. Our bodies are a living temple in which our Lord is either turning over the exchange tables or washing our feet. Think of Him cleaning house in us and recognize that He deals with what bothers Him the most and knows best how to “clean house”.

1 John 4:12 English Standard Version (ESV) No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

Yesterday’s post ended with these words. “The abiding love is an abounding love.”

There is a difference between abide and abound and that difference should be explained.

Abide means it is present within us. Abounding means abundant, so much so that we cannot contain it within ourselves. Here in the first epistle from John we can see that His love is perfected in us. Think about that for a second. Perfect love in an imperfect person cannot be constrained from being what God intends love to be, shared.

It is not a matter of if we can love, His love in not within our control, He is Lord. We all struggle with loving perfectly because we think His perfect love is within our control. What we fail to recognize is that His abiding love, abounding in us, is too much for us to constrain. We worry and fret about not loving perfectly and allow the lies of the enemy to tell us we have failed.

Since His love is under His control, Satan cannot touch it, constrain it, nor prevent it from spilling out of us like rivers of living waters. Do we see ourselves as a waterfall or a sprinkler? Maybe we feel like a dripping faucet. Would it help if we understand we are not in control of the water pressure?

How we see ourselves is not how God sees us. His love is abounding, filling us all in all. What we feel is not the same things as what we believe. We are to have faith in God and not in ourselves. He is faithful and we need to believe that He will perform His will in us, no matter how we feel.

What I hear in the spirit at this moment is every reader saying “But!”