Just Squash It!

So I don’t know if it is the amount of testosterone floating around in my home since football season started or the recent reading with my boys that God decided to speak to me through simple bugs—yes BUGS!    (I will spare you a pic of this unsightly creature I saw today)

I am seriously outnumbered here in my home and even though I grew up catching bugs myself…I was a little bit of a tomboy; I am very glad to have boys around to kill the occasional cockroach, cricket or spider that crosses our path. 

Yet, this morning no one was awake as I sat reading my Bible and praying when a cockroach simply interrupted me when I caught a glimpse of it darting across the floor. 

I sat for a second and rationalized that it wasn’t something to go wake one of my bug-assassins so I grabbed a book near by and bombed the moving target.  After applying firm pressure with my bare foot to the book I felt it was safe to dispose of the bug. 

Ewwww….why am I writing about this? 

You may have guessed, it wasn’t quite dead; apparently these bugs are similar to cats and have 9-lives…for it began to scurry across the floor again after seemingly being squished to the floor.  In the seconds I watched it scurry again I heard God speak to the recesses of my heart….I know weird—

Yet, really it is not so weird; for God is in the little things of our lives just as much as He is in the big things, right?!?.  

And whether I am starring at my shoes that just squished a bug or enjoying a sunset on the beach He is with me—He is with you if you believe and call Him your Savior too.

“Some things are just hard to kill…”  I heard the Spirit speak to my heart.  These words just prior to trying to kill a bug that interrupted my reading and coffee…these words just prior to me asking God, “Why is this surfacing again?” I thought I have already dealt with this.

So I didn’t sit still for long, I came back with more force in the second squishing and succeeded and I felt God’s smile. 

You see there are negative emotions and feelings that we have that seem to resurface even after we have had time to deal with them.  I don’t know have you felt any of these feelings lately and wonder where they came from: un-forgiveness, lustful thoughts, jealousy, envy, anger, conflict, rebellion…

The Bible says we all have these emotions and we cannot ignore them (Gal 5).  And any unsettling feeling that we have is simply God moving in us by the Holy Spirit to encourage us to live with joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 

You see God was reminding me of His truth to just squash it-kill it…or Gal 5:24 says to crucify my sinful nature.  And like the bug….some things just want to keep scurrying- for we have an adversary that continues to scurry.  

Let us not be discouraged when we realize we have a unbecoming emotions rising in us; but let us do what we need to do is squashing them; so that we may live by the Spirit rather than our human desires that the world will tell us are normal and thus okay to just let be.  

Remember it is the Spirit who empowers us and gives us strength to do great things for His Kindgom.  Girlfriendit Radio spoke about how God empowers us last week.  You can listen here.  

"Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other." Gal 5:26

Don’t ignore it…squash it and lean into God to empower you to walk full of His love.

How do you ward off scurrying emotions that can come up from time to time, like envy? 

I would love to hear how you deal with emotions like this...I enjoy learning from others and would love to start a dialogue here.  

And to encourage comments this month, I am giving away a copy of the devotional book, titled "Big Dreams From Small Places".  Every comment will enter you in the drawing.  Share with me and others how He moves in your heart to walk with Him--together we inspire and encourage each other.