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Resilience is often associated with suppressing emotions, but the key lies in harnessing them for good. Emotions serve as signposts guiding us toward a greater dependence on God. Anger is often the superficial emotion covering over a deeper, less acceptable emotion.

Three Biblical Examples:

Cain’s Anger

Genesis 4:3-5 (NLT) When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the LORD. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The LORD accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.

Genesis 4:6-7 (NLT) “Why are you so angry?” the LORD asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”

Genesis 4:8 (NLT) One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him.

Cain’s anger stemmed from God’s rejection of his offering. Digging deeper, the underlying emotion was dejection, fueled by insecurity and comparison. Substitute anger, a false sense of control, led Cain to a loss of emotional, relational, and spiritual control. The story concludes tragically, with Cain’s anger leading to the murder of his brother Abel, showcasing the destructive power of unchecked emotions.

Moses’ Anger

Numbers 20:1-2 (NLT) In the first month of the year, the whole community of Israel arrived in the wilderness of Zin and camped at Kadesh. While they were there, Miriam died and was buried. There was no water for the people to drink at that place, so they rebelled against Moses and Aaron.

Numbers 20:8 (NLT) “You and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire community. As the people watch, speak to the rock over there, and it will pour out its water. You will provide enough water from the rock to satisfy the whole community and their livestock.”

Numbers 20:10-11 (NLT) Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock. “Listen, you rebels!” he shouted. “Must we bring you water from this rock?” Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So the entire community and their livestock drank their fill.

Numbers 20:12 (NLT) But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!”

Moses’ frustration boiled over due to the Israelites’ continuous complaints. God instructed him to speak to a rock for water, testing his obedience, trust, and self-control. Moses, overwhelmed by frustration, struck the rock twice instead. Despite God’s grace allowing water to flow, there were consequences. Moses was denied entry into the Promised Land, emphasizing the cost of unresolved anger on one’s journey to resilience.

Jesus’ Anger

Matthew 21:12-13 (NLT) Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”

Matthew 21:14-15 (NLT) The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.” But the leaders were indignant.

Jesus displayed righteous anger, driving out those who defiled the temple. However, instead of dwelling on anger, Jesus immediately turned to positive actions, healing the blind and lame. This righteous anger led to declarations of faith but also stirred resentment in the religious leaders. Their unresilient anger ultimately led to Jesus’ crucifixion. The lesson here is to harness anger for good by cultivating a prayer life, taking positive action, admitting vulnerability, and releasing grievances to God.

Fear, a complex and universal emotion, can take various forms and be triggered by different stimuli. In this topic, we will draw inspiration from the biblical account of Jehoshaphat to understand how to overcome fear to build our faith.

Seven Common Types of Fear:

1. Fear of Failure: Anxiety about not meeting expectations or failing in a task.
2. Fear of the Unknown: Apprehension about unpredictable future events or outcomes.
3. Fear of Change: Apprehension about what the future holds.
4. Fear of Pain: Anxiety about experiencing pain or injury.
5. Fear of Loss: Anxiety about the potential loss of close relationships or material possessions.
6. Social Fear: Fear of rejection, judgment, and public speaking.
7. Existential Fear: Fear of death and meaninglessness, considered the ultimate fear.

Jehoshaphat’s Experience:

2 Chronicles 20:1 (NLT) After this, the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat.

2 Chronicles 17:6 (NLT) He was deeply committed to the ways of the LORD. He removed the pagan shrines and Asherah poles from Judah.

2 Chronicles 17:7-9 (NLT) In the third year of his reign Jehoshaphat sent his officials to teach in all the towns of Judah. …. They took copies of the Book of the Law of the LORD and traveled around through all the towns of Judah, teaching the people.

Defining Fear (Anxiety): Before delving into Jehoshaphat’s story, it’s crucial to define fear. Fear is an emotion caused by the brain’s reaction to situations, not the situations themselves. Fear can be a protective mechanism, such as when encountering real dangers like facing a bear in Alaska. However, it can also serve evil by hindering trust in God, ultimately affecting our faith.

Jehoshaphat’s Three-Part Plan for Overcoming Fear:

1. Admit Fear: Jehoshaphat openly admitted his fear, putting it on the table for examination.
2. Turn to God: In times of fear, Jehoshaphat turned to God, acknowledging his dependence on a higher power.
3. Start a Fast: Jehoshaphat initiated a fast, a deliberate act of seeking divine guidance through self-discipline and devotion.

Jehoshaphat’s reliance on God led to divine intervention. The Lord assured him that the battle was not his but God’s. As Jehoshaphat and his people praised and thanked the Lord, the enemy armies turned against each other, resulting in victory and the naming of the Valley of Blessing.

In times of fear, the lessons from Jehoshaphat’s journey serve as a timeless guide to overcoming adversity and finding victory through faith.

Today we’ll talk about how to overcome your shameful past to experience the freedom we can have in Christ. We’ll look at David’s example in the story of Bathsheba and Uriah.

2 Samuel 11:1-4 In the spring of the year,^[a] when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem.² Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. ³ He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” ⁴ Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home.

2 Samuel 12:1-7 So the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story: “There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. ² The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. ³ The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. ⁴ One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest.”⁵ David was furious. “As surely as the Lord lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! ⁶ He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.”⁷ Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul.

The world delights in bold sinners who flout God’s Word and expect no punishment whatsoever. That’s called “shamelessness,” and it’s nothing new.

Romans 1:24-32

So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. ²⁵ They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. ²⁶ That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. ²⁷ And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.²⁸ Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. ²⁹ Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. ³⁰ They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. ³¹ They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. ³² They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

On the other end of the spectrum is “shamefulness” – getting stuck in your guilt and either living there or trying to work your way out of it with your good behavior. This is also bad. 

David is an example of a person who could have gotten stuck in his shameful behavior. Instead he took God at his word and moved on in life to experience peace.

Psalm 51:1-3,9-10 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. ² Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. ³ For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Shame is only good when it leads us to Christ. He took our shame on the cross and set us free from condemnation.

Romans 7:24-8:1 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

Today we’ll talk about Three Types of Grief – and how to harness it for good

• First a theological note: Grief was not a part of Eden and it won’t be a part of Heaven. 
  • Revelation 21:4 (NLT) He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.
• It is a result of the fall, and sin lies at the root of it. Because humanity has rejected God’s ways, the conditions of loss exist at the heart of the human experience. 
  • But there is a good side. That’s what we’ll talk about in each of these three types of grief…

“Victim” grief is sorrow because of someone’s deep sin against you.

• Some of you have experienced deep relational wounds
  • False accusations 
  • It’s real grief, and you’ll hit some stages – first anger, then deep sadness, ultimately a desire to pull away
  • That’s how you know it’s bad: isolation
    • Pull away from people (enemy wants this)
    • Pull away from God (opposite of resilient)
      • Genesis 3:8-9 (NLT) When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees. Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
• Q. How can this possibly be good?
  • It can open you up to deeper relationships. God gives us people to support us in our sadness. When you want to isolate yourself, force yourself to engage with others. 
    • Romans 12:15 (NLT) Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.
  • It can open you up to a deeper relationship with God. God can use sorrow to develop greater dependence on him. 
    • Psalms 73:21, 23 Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside…. Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand.

“Guilt” grief is sorrow over your own sin. (see last week)

• Selfish life patterns or self-centered goals. Loving the wrong things in life. Making bad choices. Peter is an example: 
  • Matthew 26:75 (NLT) Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly.
  • Have you been there?
• Q. How can this possibly be good?
  • God can use guilt grief to purify what we value. It can cause you to evaluate what things really matter enough to truly be mourned.
  • 2 Corinthians 7:10 (NLT) For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
    • Two kinds of sorrow (grief) there:
      • Worldly sorrow (lacks repentance)
      • Godly sorrow
  • God can use sadness to enlarge our souls. Sorrow can make you a deeper, wiser person. Until you’ve experienced affliction, you’ll have a superficial view of life. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
• CS Lewis: “God whispers to us in our pleasure but he shouts to us in our pain.”

“Bereavement” is grief over the loss of a loved one, and even Jesus experienced it.

• Death is bad, not part of God’s original plan
• John 11:33, 38 (NLT) When Jesus saw Mary weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled…. Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb…
  • Jesus was angry at death – it wasn’t right. 
  • Second stage of grief
• Q. How can this possibly be good?
  • Sorrow can be good when God uses our sadness to help others with their sorrow. Sorrow can make you more compassionate. We can show empathy and care for others because we can relate to their pain. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
    • Example: Joanne Smith
  • Grief can draw us closer to Jesus
    • Psalms 34:18 (NLT) The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
    • Isaiah 53:3-4 (NLT) He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief…. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
  • Sorrow points us to the ultimate hope
    • 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 (NLT) And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

As with every other difficult emotion, harnessing grief is only possible for those who have trusted Jesus for salvation. He gives us new, resilient hearts.

• Proverbs 4:23 (NLT) Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
• Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT) “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?”
• Ezekiel 36:26 (NLT) And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.