UPS AND DOWNS
In life, we are always going to have ups and downs. We won’t always be up or always be down and the truth is, you can’t have one without the other.
There are going to be people you don’t like, places you don’t want to go and responsibilities that you want to put off but we must persevere, overcome and thrive.
Remember, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41). And we are 3 part beings, desiring to be in a constant state of what psychology calls homeostasis and The Holy Bible calls being at peace.
So let’s look at this:
We are…
Spirit – Mind – Body
Our spirit is connected to God Our body is connected to the world as the flesh And the mind is connected to both
This is where the battle always takes place: the mind…
Sin is of the world Love is of the spirit Duality is in the mind…
So, if we strive to be in a constant state of peace…
When buddy talks too early in the morning or I’m angry because all of my belongings just got flipped in a shakedown or my baby mama\daddy won’t let me talk to our children, what do we do to shake back?
1st, we need to realize that all of these things are happening in our flesh and the way we are feeling about it is coming from our minds – or what we believe about the whole situation.
Beliefs drive feelings, feelings drive behaviors, and those behaviors form our identities
But we have designed our own mental process to battle things here at MAVMC called the KC Psyche or KC Mindset
Instead of belief > emotion > behavior > identity we go thought > feeling > desire (choice) then either 1. Walk in the Spirit or 2. Walk in the flesh
A mental interrupt for when we begin to feel tried or violated.
To remain in a constant state of homeostasis, we must understand the process of how peace comes from God and how we have the choice to activate it or not
Spirit
Mind
Body
Peace begins in the spirit, the mind controls the emotional responses (chemical releases such as dopamine and cortisol) and the body then feels _________________ because of those chemicals. (Fill in the blank with an emotion of your choice)
Now there is something going on behind the scenes here that most people don’t know or never think about.
As we receive spiritual guidance and blessings from God, our minds (brains) begin to change. As that change takes place, different chemicals begin to be released into our bodies making us feel different but also making us different.
What do I mean by that?
I mean that as we begin to feel different our subconscious mind begins to do things that we are not aware or “conscious” of.
Our genes and even our DNA are being changed every time we make progress.
Our minds are being renewed (Romans 12:2) We are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
In a sense, we are evolving or becoming…
So if we continue to study, meditate and pray without ceasing we will begin to be able to control our impulsive desires to react and begin to respond if we are in a constant state of peace.
Love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8)
Most of our reactions are caused by fear anyway and we don’t want to be labeled “scary” now do we?
Yes, anger, rage, anxiety, etc, they are all fueled by fear and are our impulsive reaction.
Being scared of _____________________ (humiliation, loss of love, loss of respect, etc.)
But, as we evolve spiritually and disconnect from the things of this world (1 John 2: 15-17) we will begin to realize that fear is torment (1 John 4:18) and comes from the enemy, Satan. So now, faith in God becomes our main priority as we begin to realize that we are all blessed because we still have a chance to make something out of our lives, something new and amazing!
I mean, consider people who are angry all of the time. Either they are confused alot (too many stimuli); confusion triggers fear and anger by the way, or they have allowed life to beat them into submission. They have given up.
And remember, our behaviors are a reflection of our internal (spiritual/mental) state. You can tell a tree by its fruit…
We also sometimes put chemicals into our bodies to “feel” certain ways or to “cope”, maybe even because we enjoy them.
So here we have a delima…
Drinking, zans, perks, gas, nicotine, you name it.
We use to make us feel… We’re always chasing a feeling… But a feeling of what?
Completeness and Peace
So let’s reverse the natural order of things for a second…
Body
Mind
Spirit
As we put chemicals into our bodies they change us internally and if we do it enough, it becomes an addiction
Addiction is a curse Addiction is a stronghold (2 Corinthians 10: 4-5)
Now, we have a chemical imbalance mentally and it causes our spiritual health to become weaker every time we use.
This is 100% the work of Satan himself.
Taking the natural order of things and reversing them, thus reversing our growth.
And, because of the way our bodies/minds are designed, eventually, with enough repetition, it begins to feel normal to us.
What a delima…
The thief (Satan) cometh not but to steal, kill and destroy and God comes that we can have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
Steal our peace Kill our vision Destroy our lives
Our environment, music, movies, and most likely our parents (generational curse; Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 5:9 and Numbers 4:18 speaks of this) have taught us that these things are ” normal.”
Drinking Smoking Popping pills Rage for control Selfishness
There is no lasting peace in this…
What does King Solomon have to say? The wisest man who ever lived and who ever will live…
All is vanity (apart from God) and a chasing after the wind (Ecclesiastes 1:14)
Now, some of us have natural chemical imbalances in our brains that have been caused by physical or mental trauma such as fighting, a car accident, abuse or abandonment.
Some of us choose to self medicate (felony) which in turn causes us to become part of “the system” as a matter of fact, out of the 1.8 million of incarcerated individuals in the United States and the other 3.7 million on probation/parole, 20% of these are all drug related.
And
Some of us choose to seek professional help and are perscribed certain medications based on our “symptoms” or “labs”
Would you believe that 60% of Americans are on some form of prescription medication?
11% of those being for depression and anxiety?
Now let’s put this in perspective…
There are 347 million Americans and only 64.9 million are not on any medications.
So what am I saying?
I’m saying that 208.6 million out of 347 million Americans are dependant on mind/body altering chemicals to either survive or cope. This just blows me away!!!
So here’s the key, are you ready?
Spiritual health overrides all if we nurture it
Mental health comes in a close second
And physical health is as important as both spiritual and mental health…
So remember: they all work together because without physical health you will not desire to thrive, you will be to busy thinking about either how you feel or why your so __________________ (depressed, anxious, etc).
At that point, there’s no room for spiritual or mental health
Key point: Health in all 3 areas = homeostasis (The peace of God) Philippians 4:7
But so many of us have either given up or given in (to our environment/influences). And potentially along the way became chemical (drug) dependent. This should not be so!
God desires that we have abundant life, not a life where were only hanging on by a thread of hope.
Be blessed Church! I love y’all
Apostle K