Thinking and Beliefs – Hope for Complete Healing

How to Experience the Unimaginable

Do you have a good imagination? Is it possible that God has something better for you than you can even imagine? Ephesians 3:20 states, “Now to him [God] who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” God is all-powerful and can do more than we can think or ask. 1Corinthians 2:9 states, “But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.'” These two verses are hard to understand. I will try to explain them in this post.

In my post “What is Too Hard For God?”, I explained that nothing is too hard for God, but we must be patient to see what God does through our consistent prayers and faith. Jeremiah 32:17 states, “Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” Also, Luke 1:37 states, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” God may not answer your prayers the way you want, but He always answers them according to His immeasurable power beyond what you can think or ask. Remember, people have free will, and God does not force anyone to obey or love Him. But keep praying.

What does far more abundantly mean?

If God created all that we see and don’t see, then we can trust He can do far more than anything our finite minds could think up. For example, I needed a place to live with two toddlers and pets. I had no job because I was a stay-at-home mother. My husband quit his good job so he would only pay the minimum child support. I put my trust in God, and He performed many miracles. I explain these miracles in my post called “Trust God to Keep His Promises.”

Why can we trust God to do far more abundantly than all we can ask or think? Because He loves us, and He keeps His promises. I like to break verses down by phrases to help me understand the message of God. Ephesians 3:17-19 explains the following.

“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—

that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

may have strength to comprehend with all the saints

what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,

that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Read these phrases again slowly. Does Christ dwell in your heart? If you asked Him to dwell in your heart, then you have His power in you. Do you demonstrate the love of Jesus? Are you rooted and grounded in His love? Do you comprehend the breadth and length and height and depth, and know the love of Christ? If not, then ask Him to show you. Not only does God’s love surpass our understanding, but so does His peace (Phil. 4:7).

Because of His awesome love for us, He “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is the power at work within us. This power will heal your soul/heart wounds inflicted by those who were hurtful and unloving. Soul wounds keep you from comprehending how much God loves you. My website book will help you understand soul wounds and how to apply God’s healing power.

The goal is “that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” What does all the fullness of God look like in your life? As you put off worldly lusts, resentments from past trauma and offenses, and heal any soul/heart wounds, you will be filled with the fullness of God. His fullness includes His power, presence, and character, so you reflect more of God in your life to others. His character is described in the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-24) that I also describe on my website.

God Has Unimaginable Plans for You

The second verse we are considering is 1Corinthians 2:9, which states, “But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.'” Do you love God? When we love God, we obey Him.

John 14:15 states, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.“

John_15:10 states, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”

1John 5:2-3 states, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.”

1John 3:21-24 states, “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23) And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24) Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.“

Obeying God requires trust and submission to do what God requires of us. But for many people, including myself, trust and submission are difficult because the people who should have loved us only hurt us. So, receiving God’s love and obeying Him may be difficult, which is why I encourage you to do the hard work of soul/heart healing found on my website.

Conclusion

When I look back over my life, I can see how God did immeasurably more than I could think or ask. There are conditions to experience God’s immeasurable blessings that are unimaginable, and they are:

Must have Jesus Christ living in you by faith, who is the power in you (Eph. 3:17 & 19).

You must be grounded in the love of Christ, that is, to know and believe how much He loves you (Eph. 3:18-19 and Gal. 2:20).

You must love Him (Luke 10:27).

“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love (2John 1:3).”

*********************

All verses are from the English Standard Version. Nothing is AI-generated. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles. my post called Breaking Mental Strongholds Book. Also, check out Fighting Unseen Battles on Amazon. To learn more about this book, read: How to Fight Unseen Battles.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

Power Through Weakness

Have you known Christians who are clearly sick but won’t admit they are sick because they don’t want to claim it?

Or you tell someone you have cancer, and they say, “Don’t own it; by faith, say you are healed.”

Let’s be honest. If you are evidently sick, don’t deny it thinking your faith is weak if you admit you are sick or a diabetic, etc. Sickness and affliction happen to everyone. Our bodies are weak, and we will get sick or get cancer, and saying so does not mean you have weak faith; it is a matter of fact. God’s grace will give you power and strength to endure.

Note: I don’t use AI to generate any of my posts; I wait for the Holy Spirit to speak to me. I spent the day in prayer, seeking God about what He wanted me to write about today, and He led me to write about the power of grace. Grace is hard to understand, so I asked Grok what God’s grace meant, and I gave it several Biblical examples.

For example, Acts 4:33 states, “And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.” Grok said that great grace meant “God’s abundant favor, kindness, and enabling presence rested not only on the apostles but on the entire community.” This tells me that when we share our testimony of what God has done, His grace (undeserved favor, love, and kindness) will be on us and those we witness to. When you share the gospel or encourage someone who is downcast, you are showing God’s grace.

The Apostle Paul’s Weakness

The Apostle Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, suffered greatly, yet he remained content. Why? Would you be content when suffering for Christ? In 2Corinthians 12:1-8, the Apostle Paul describes a heavenly vision he had and wanted to boast about it. He was given a “thorn in the flesh”—a painful, ongoing affliction he calls “a messenger of Satan sent to harass him,” which kept him from becoming conceited. Three times he pleaded with the Lord to take it away. Instead of removing the thorn, the Lord gave him this answer in 2Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” Do you want the power of Christ to rest on you? Admit your weakness and need for God’s power and strength in your life.

Paul also responds in verse 10, saying, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Could you be content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities? Paul wrote to Timothy that God rescued him from all persecutions and suffering (2Tim. 3:11).

How is power made perfect in weakness?

Grok returned the following explanation to the phrase “For my power is made perfect in weakness”: “Weakness is not a barrier to God’s power; it is the stage on which that power is showcased. When we stop relying on our own ability, Christ’s strength becomes visible and effective through us. This verse reveals a profound paradox at the heart of the Christian life: God often leaves the thorn in place so that His grace and power—not our competence or self-sufficiency—receive the glory. Paul’s experience shows that weakness can become the very place where dependence on Christ deepens, and His strength is most evident.”

Application

Our bodies and minds are weak. When we think we can do life on our own and be self-sufficient, God will let us alone.

The moment we call out to God in humility and say, I need your help, then His power is activated in our lives.

If we stay plugged in and dependent on God to help us, then His power will be our source of life and strength.

Where Does Our Help Come From?

This question reminds me of Psalm 121. The first three verses go like this: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2) My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. 3) He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.” The same powerful, almighty God who made the heaven and earth wants to help you and hold you secure. This same God has opened His throne room up to you through Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 4:14-16 encourages us, “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15) 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. 16) Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Application

Jesus Christ has given us access to God the Father, who gives us undeserved love. Jesus paid the debt for our sin to redeem us and removed the separation between God and us. I explained this miracle in my last post.

We are told to hold fast to our confession, which is our testimony of what Jesus Christ did for us (saved us, justified us, sanctified us, redeemed us, forgiven us, and gave us His righteousness).

You may be tempted to sin, which could be to worry, doubt, fear, complain, and so on. Know that Jesus was tempted in the same way and understands your weakness. He wants to help you because he won the victory.

We can confidently go before the throne of grace to “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” This Scripture has got to be the best in all the Bible.

God’s mercy is undeserved forgiveness and compassion.

God’s grace gives us power in our weakness that helps us to endure. Hardships and afflictions show up at the least expected times, but know that you can always go to the throne of grace to receive help.

Conclusion

The next time you are afflicted, pray and ask God to heal you, then receive God’s power and strength through His grace to endure the affliction. The affliction could be a sickness, a concerning diagnosis, job loss, family issues, etc. The Apostle Paul could have been mad at God for not taking the harassing spirit from him. Would you be mad at God? Many people are. Paul chose to be content and rejoiced in his weakness, so he could experience God’s grace. Instead of focusing on the affliction and sinning by complaining, doubting, giving in to fleshly pleasures, etc., turn to God in prayer and come to the throne of grace to receive mercy and grace to help you endure and overcome.

“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love (2John 1:3).”

RELATED POSTS

Why You Need God’s Power and Might

Using the Power of the Holy Spirit

How to Stand Firm and Not Fear

*********************

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name so I know you are a real person making the request.

Why You Need God’s Power and Might

Are you experiencing God’s power in your life? Or do you sometimes feel powerless and weak? Do you wish you could be stronger when going through trials? Are you tempted to give up? The devil is always tempting you in subtle ways. He is crafty, as he was with Adam and Eve (2Cor. 11:3 and 1Thes. 3:5). He wants you to doubt God, focus on your troubles or fleshly desires, or become offended and unwilling to forgive. God promises to give you His power according to His glorious might. Isaiah 40:29 tells us, “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.” This is a promise you can claim.

When I was going through a divorce, I felt powerless and helpless. I didn’t know where I would live with my two toddlers or how I would pay my bills. My faith was being tested, and I was tempted to give up on God, but I knew He was a miracle-working God, so I trusted Him. I experienced many miracles, which I share in the web post called Trusting God to Keep His Promises. Walking by faith in God for wisdom and strength was not easy, but it was the only way to get through many hardships.

How I received God’s Power and Might.

I first turned my thoughts to God’s promises and claimed them. Second, I continued in prayer about all my needs and fears. For example, the Apostle Paul wrote a prayer in Colossians 1:11, and part of that prayer for the saints was “being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” You can pray that for yourself. I need God’s strength because I cannot stand firm in my faith on my own. I need His power to endure my troubles. The power He gives is through the Spirit He gave me when I believed and received Him into my heart (Eph. 3:16-17 and John 1:12). Now, all I have to do is read the Bible, know His promises, and claim them by believing and trusting that God keeps His promises. Praying continually helps you keep your mind on God’s power and promises; then you will have peace and strength.

How Great is God’s Power and Might?

According to Scripture, God’s power and might are immeasurable. Think about that. Immeasurable means beyond measuring. In a prayer in Ephesians 1:19, the Apostle Paul prayed that they may know “what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might.” Paul wants us to know God’s immeasurable power, but you must believe. Have you experienced this power in your life through the work of His great might? Might also means power and strength. In my testimony post linked above, I share all the miracles God did for me.

The Israelites experienced God’s power when He parted the Red Sea. They experienced His power when He fed them manna every day and gave them water out of a rock. He led them by a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. For the entire 40 years wandering in the desert, He made sure their shoes and clothes did not wear out. After the Israelites experienced all of God’s power and might, they still complained and disobeyed Him. Why? Because they focused on what they did not like and their fleshly desires instead of God’s blessings. If you experienced all these mighty miracles, would you complain?

Riches of God’s Glory

Paul also wrote the following in Ephesians 3:16, “that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” This verse explains that God gives us strength and power through His Spirit according to His riches in glory. Wow, we can experience the riches of His glory. This is so hard to comprehend, but doesn’t it make you feel hopeful and joyful? Do you walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, or do you walk according to the world and your feelings?

The power through His Spirit opens your heart to Christ Jesus’ love, so you can be rooted and grounded in love (Eph. 3:17). The power of the Spirit gives us strength “to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:18-19).” WOW!! Are you experiencing this kind of fullness and love? Loving people is hard sometimes, and we need the Holy Spirit’s power to forgive and love others as Christ (Eph. 5:1-2). Are you filled with God’s fullness? You can when you pray continually and trust in Him.

Conclusion

In my experience, you can be filled with God’s power and might as you turn your thoughts to Him in prayer, believe, and be thankful (Phil. 4:6-7 and 1Thes. 5:16-18). We all will experience troubles and trials, so we need to stay in prayer and know God’s promises to experience His power and strength. If you struggle with depression or anxiety, you can overcome your anxious or hopeless thoughts through the power of the Spirit of God when you invite Him into your heart. I explain more about how to overcome in my free online book on hopeforcompletehealing.com. The more I study God’s power, the more I realize how much I try to do things without His power and how helpless I feel. How about you?

RELATED POSTS can be found in

I pray you are blessed and encouraged.

“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love (2John 1:3).”

*********************

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles. My post called Breaking Mental Strongholds Book. Also, check out Fighting Unseen Battles on Amazon. To learn more about this book, read: How to Fight Unseen Battles.

Why You Need Powerful Divine Weapons

What are divine weapons that have divine power? Are you aware of the spiritual warfare affecting your life and the spiritual weapons you have to fight with? Most Christians are not aware of how the devil is influencing them. Ephesians 6:12 states, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

I wrote extensively about demonic oppression in the first half of this year. Now I want to teach you how to fight using powerful divine weapons. While teaching at the county jail, I have encountered many evil/oppressive spirits and have taught the women how to successfully fight against spiritual forces of wickedness.

In the last post, you learned why you need divine power and how to access it. In this post, you will learn how to use divine weapons to take your thoughts captive and destroy the strongholds in your life. Divine weapons are from the Holy Spirit within you, and prayer is how you use these divine weapons. If you are not sure you have the Holy Spirit’s power in your inner being (Eph. 3:16), then seek forgiveness of your sins and invite Him into your life. Remember, sin separates you from God, so repentance of sins is crucial for accessing God’s divine power and using the divine weapons given to you through Jesus Christ (Eph. 6:10).

Waging war

We are fighting a spiritual war every day, whether you know it or not. If you do not know you are in a spiritual war and you do nothing to fight, then you will live with constant oppression in your body, mind, and spirit. My ministry is called Hope for Complete Healing because complete healing involves effectively fighting the oppressive spirits that afflict you. Please read my webbook to learn how to use prayer effectively to fight spiritual battles.

The Bible says in Ephesians 6:11, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” To learn more about the armor of God, visit the Spiritual Warfare Page. Ephesians 6:14-18 explains the divine weapons you need to put on and have ready every day.

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth (memorized and ready to use), and

Having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and,

As shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and

Take the helmet of salvation, and

The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

Sources of Spiritual Wars.

If you know the kind of spiritual war you are fighting, you will be more victorious. Here are a few. Please share other spiritual battles in the comments.

Being offended and not forgiving (2Cor. 2:5-11).

Influenced by false doctrine and human deception (Eph. 4:14 & Col. 2:8).

Tempted to gossip and be a busybody (1Tim. 5:13-15).

Ensnared by the devil’s lies to do His will (2Tim. 2:26).

Being led into disgraceful things (1Tim. 3:7).

Tempted to sin (1Tim. 6:9 & James 1:14-16).

There are many more, but you get the idea. Most spiritual battles are with temptations within the sin category. The devil deceives you to disobey God the same way he caused Adam and Eve to disobey God. 2Corinthians 11:3 states, “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” You are in a spiritual war that begins in your mind.

2Corinthians 10:3-5

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh

but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God,

and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

Fighting Satan’s Influence on Your Mind.

In 2Corinthians 10:3-5, you learn that you cannot fight spiritual battles in your own strength. You need God’s divine power. His power is in the truth and the name of Jesus (John 14:13). God’s divine power destroys the strongholds of your life. Strongholds are behaviors or thought patterns that control your thinking and emotions. You can learn more about strongholds and how to destroy them here.

Through prayer, you can destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God. In the context of this Scripture passage, arguments and lofty opinions are the devil’s deceptions that create prideful thinking to justify sin. Steps to victory over deceptive thoughts and to take your sinful thoughts captive so they obey Christ.

Humble yourself by praying and putting off the spirit of pride that keeps you bound and oppressed. If you arrogantly say you don’t have pride, well, arguing and taking offense is evidence of pride.

Recognize that you have sinful thoughts and desires that are against the knowledge of God’s truth in the Bible.

Desire and strive to obey God.

Memorize God’s truths in the Bible and replace the lies you believed.

For example, you may be tempted to be angry at someone who insulted you. Your prideful mind argues for your right to be angry and to slander the person. Self-centered anger is sin, and it is against the knowledge of God because He wants us to forgive and love our neighbor or enemy as ourselves.

Acknowledge that you are offended and don’t want to forgive.

Command the lofty (prideful), sinful thoughts to be gone in Jesus’ name.

Forgive the person who offended you.

Ask God to forgive you for slandering the person instead of loving them.

Next, ask God to help you forgive quickly and to love as He loves.

This is how you take your thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ.

I pray you are blessed and encouraged.

“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love (2John 1:3).”

*********************

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright-protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

Accessing Divine Power

Do you know that you have access to God’s divine power? So many of us live defeated lives when we don’t have to. Why? The reason we live defeated lives is because we give the devil too much power in our lives. Remember, we are spirit beings in a physical body, and we live in a spirit world within the physical world. If you can grasp this reality, your whole perspective will change.

When you read the Bible, you can see how the spirit world interacts with us. Angels meet people and give them messages or rescue them from prison and the lion’s den. Angels caused invading armies to kill themselves. Read the book of Job to see in detail how the spirit world affects the physical world.

How to Access God’s Divine Power and Nature.

The good news is that we have access to God’s divine power and can live victoriously with His divine nature through Jesus Christ. 2Peter 1:3-4 states, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

Last week’s post was about receiving life-giving power through the Holy Spirit and how to have a divine life. In this and the following posts, we will explore how we can have God’s divine power and nature; 2Peter 1:3-4 explains how.

Through the knowledge of Him. To grow in knowledge of God, you need to read your Bible daily and go to a Bible-believing Church.

Know that you are called to His glory and excellence. Every day, you should put off wrong beliefs and behaviors and put on the excellence of Christ Jesus (Rom. 13:13-14; Eph. 4:22-24).

Claim His precious and very great promises through prayer. Do you know what God’s promises are? You can find them in the Bible or order my book called Unlocking God’s Promises.

Through God’s promises, we become partakers of the divine nature.

Partaking in His divine nature helps you escape from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Sources of Divine Power

The first source of divine power is found in the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16), when you receive His sacrifice for your sins, believe in His resurrection from the dead, and in His ascension into heaven (1Cor. 15:3-4).

The second source of power is from the Spirit. Ephesians 3:16 states, “That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.”

The third source of power is from God. Psalm 68:35 states, “Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!”

Why Do We Need Divine Power?

It says in 2Peter 1:3a that “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” I cannot live victoriously or triumph over the trials of my life without divine power. I cannot grow in my spiritual life and godliness without divine power to put off my old thinking and deceitful desires, and put on new thinking and right beliefs (Rom. 12:2). I wrote a series of posts about godliness.

You also need divine power to escape “from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” Galatians 6:8 states, “For the one who sows to his own flesh [sinful desires] will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” Sowing is the process of planting seeds. If you want to stop a weed from sowing more weed seeds, then pull the plant. We need to do the same in our hearts: pull out the weeds of sinful desires or thoughts and plant good seeds in the form of godly thoughts. We need God’s divine power to put off our sinful desires, so we don’t face God’s wrath (Eph. 2:1-3).

Conclusion

Can you say that you are experiencing God’s divine power to overcome the world’s corruption or the trials of life? This truth was life-changing when I read it because I don’t have to try to do better with my own strength; I can claim God’s divine power through prayer. I can also claim His precious and great promises because God keeps His promises. Not only do we have life through the Holy Spirit, but we now have access to divine power to overcome our sinful desires, fears, and oppression.

I pray you are blessed and encouraged.

“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love (2John 1:3).”

RELATED POSTS

Spiritual Warfare Posts

Posts About God’s Promises

Four Realities of the Spirit World

How To Use God’s Divine Power

*********************

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright-protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name so I know you are a real person making the request.

How to Experience the Spirit’s Power

How often do you experience the power of the Holy Spirit, or do you feel lifeless inside? What does inner power look like? To experience the Holy Spirit’s inner power, you first must possess His life. The most powerful attribute of the Holy Spirit is to give life. What? I am breathing and living, so what is the Holy Spirit’s life?

In my last post, I shared how I overcame anxiety disorder and fear. That is an example of experiencing the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit, because as I put my trust in God to help me and be with me, I was not afraid. In this post, I will share how you can also experience the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit in your life. During the first half of the year, I wrote about the power of the devil and how to defeat him. The devil wants to kill, steal, and destroy you, but the Holy Spirit through Jesus wants to give you life and life abundantly (John 10:10).

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is a part of the Trinity of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Jesus said in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit empowers us through belief in the Son, Jesus Christ, whom the Father sent, to overcome sin and live a holy life (Jn. 3:16 & 1Jn 4:9). You will learn more about that in other posts. You will also learn that He is your helper and teacher, how he gives you power to witness, and so on. This post is just a brief overview of His life-giving power.

How Do You Know You Have Life?

Our spirits are dead and separated from God because of sin. To experience the Holy Spirit’s life-giving power is to receive and believe in the name of Jesus (John 1:12). When you believe and receive His forgiveness of your sins, the Holy Spirit will dwell in you. Also, Romans 8:10 states, “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” We become righteous because of the life of Jesus we received. And Romans 8:11 tells us, “If the Spirit of him [God] who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” You will not only have a powerful spiritual life but also eternal life with God.

1Corinthians 15:45 also states, “Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam [Jesus] became a life-giving spirit.” If you have not invited Jesus to come into your life and forgive your sins, please do that to experience the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit.

Life-giving Thoughts.

Now that the life-giving power dwells in you, you will experience the power of the Holy Spirit through continual prayer and trusting God (Father, Son, and Spirit) to keep His promises. The Holy Spirit is sent to help and guide you into all truth (John 14:26, 15:26). A helper does you no good if you don’t ask them to help. Our spirit prays, and the Holy Spirit in us hears and is prepared to help or teach us. For example, I pray for the Holy Spirit’s help every time I write a blog post because writing is not a natural gift, but I write the wisdom from the Holy Spirit, who teaches me the truth.

Next, if you’re concerned with the things of this world and satisfying the pleasures of your flesh and sin, then you will be powerless against your enemy, the devil. But when you set your mind to think on the truth and what pleases God, then you will experience peace and life. Romans 8:6 states, “For to set the mind on the flesh [sin] is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” Take an inventory of your thoughts; yes, write them down. What do you think about most, and how much time do you spend there?

Conclusion

Experiencing the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit begins with inviting Him into your life, then actively praying and seeking His help in every situation you face. This post reveals a small portion of the Holy Spirit’s power in your life. In the following posts, you will learn much more. So, did you do the inventory of your thoughts yet? I hope you do. The more you focus your mind on the things of God, the more you will experience the promises of God.

When you read about God, know that he has three parts or roles, and is not three persons. God plays the Father role, the Son role, and the Spirit’s role. In John 14:10-11, Jesus says, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11) Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.” Also, Luke 4:1 states, “And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.”

I pray you are blessed and encouraged.

“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love (2John 1:3).”

*********************

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

How to Overcome Fear and Anxiety

Have you ever been afraid? Did you feel anxious about doing something new, or speaking to a group of people? Fear is a normal reaction to the unknown. Sometimes our imaginations can generate fear. Say if you meet a bear or mountain lion, you may be scared.

Many people have anxiety disorders, which cause panic attacks when a trauma memory is triggered. This is different than being afraid to speak in front of people or go to a job interview. I overcame fear by changing my thinking. I overcame my anxiety disorder by healing and changing my trauma memories. I also relied on the power of the Holy Spirit to help me take my thoughts captive and transform them with the truth of God’s word. I knew I was free from fear and anxiety when I went to Africa.

How I Overcame My Fear.

I just came back from a 17-day trip to Africa, and I was not overcome by fear, nor did I have any panic attacks. In contrast, when I went to Israel eight years ago, I had to take anxiety medication. I chose Genexa, which is an all-natural chewable pill that worked great to help me relax. I was very fearful because my thoughts would conjure up all kinds of events that would never happen, but what if they did? This time, when I went to Africa, I practiced what I wrote about in Who or What Controls You? When I would begin to entertain fearful thoughts, I would take them captive by

Acknowledging them,

Putting them out of my mind in Jesus’ name,

Then think or speak the truth to replace fear with trust.

For example, when the flight over was turbulent for 15 hours, I prayed and kept my mind on the power and protection of God. I pushed away fearful thoughts of crashing into the ocean and centered on trusting God. I imagined that angels were flying with that flight to make sure the plane didn’t split apart from all the turbulence. I maintained my peace and did not have to take my anxiety medicine. I realized I was still internalizing anxiety because I could not urinate for the whole flight, so by the time I got to Cape Town, I was in excruciating pain. It took a while to get to the bathroom at the airport, which also caused some anxiety, but I did not panic.

The next piece of evidence that I had overcome anxiety was when we got a flat tire on the safari through Etosha, Namibia’s National Wildlife Park. It included lions and other predator animals, and you were told not to exit your vehicle. We all had to get out of the car to help lift the car to get the jack under it, which was a sandy road. My husband was the only strong person, as our hosts were 81 and 77, respectively. Then there was me, who was not much help. I asked, is it safe to get out of the car? Our host was driving his son’s vehicle and did not know how to get to the spare tire. Thankfully, he had a satellite phone and could call his son. We finally got back on the road, and not even a mile down the road was a herd of elephants. I got afraid when a hippo chased our fishing boat on the Okavango River. The captain assured me that he was just playing with us, then told the story of a hippo that bit the side of his boat and nearly sank it. I had many opportunities to trust God instead of being fearful. Do you find it hard to trust God? Why?

Overcoming Anxiety

Anxiety is situational fear. Many people are disabled because of situational fear or must take medication to stay calm. People say they can’t go to church because they get anxiety around a group of people. You don’t have to be anxious about anything when you pray about everything. Anxiety usually is the result of a bad experience or a traumatic event. For example, when you have an accident, you may be anxious every time you get into a car or pass the place where the accident happened. The level of anxiety depends on how much emotion was stored related to the painful event. Or, how much fear is stored related to the event. Freedom from anxiety occurs when you seek God to heal the emotional response and change the negative experience by being thankful for something. So, when you have a panic attack, do the following.

Ask God to show you why you had the panic attack.

Forgive the people who caused you pain to remove the power they have over your reactions.

Ask God to remove the negative emotion of the memory from your Hippocampus.

Implant a thankful thought into that memory to remove the trigger. You can be thankful it wasn’t worse, or you weren’t alone, or that God rescued and healed you, etc.

Transform the unhealthy beliefs you adopted because of the painful event with a Biblical truth. See my worksheets for truth samples you can adopt.

Most people know Philippians 4:6-7, which states, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 )And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Prayer and thankfulness are necessary to achieve the peace we desperately desire. Prayer is a humble submission of trust that God keeps what you commit to Him. That He is able to protect and provide for you, to answer prayer, and so on. 1Thessalonians 5:16-18 also tells us to “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Conclusion

I was paralyzed by fear and anxiety for many years. I can assure you that you don’t have to be paralyzed by fear or anxiety. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, fearful thoughts can be replaced by trusting God, who keeps His promises. Anxiety-inducing memories can be healed and replaced with thankfulness and the truth in God’s word that helps you trust Him. If you have a problem with fearful thoughts or situational anxiety, there is hope. I give many practical tips on how to be an overcomer in my book, which is found on my website. You can also read my posts on the power of thoughts and on trusting God.

*********************

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles. My post called Breaking Mental Strongholds Book. Also, check out Fighting Unseen Battles on Amazon. To learn more about this book, read: How to Fight Unseen Battles.

How to Cultivate Hope

We all hope for something most of the time. God gives lasting hope, but the devil destroys your hope. All of us have experienced the influence of the devil and demons in our lives, and many have given evil spirits power to control their destiny. Unfortunately, most people don’t realize how much power they give to demons. I explained how to overcome the power of evil spirits on the Spiritual Warfare Posts page. Have you experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in your life?

I will teach how to be controlled by the Holy Spirit’s power. Being controlled by the Holy Spirit requires submission to God. James 4:7 states, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” I am amazed by how many Christians do not know how to submit to God and resist the devil. This verse is key to living victoriously as a Christian. Obedience to the Word of God is how you submit to God and resist the devil (John 14:21; Rom. 8:7).

How to Submit to God.

Submission is a mindset that gives God authority to direct your steps. The following Scriptures describe where our thoughts are to be set.

Psalm 81:11 states, “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me.”

Do you desire to listen to God through praying, reading the Bible, and keeping His commands? When you don’t set your mind on the truths and commands of God, then your mind will be set on your fleshly desires and pleasing yourself, not God.

Romans 8:6-8 states, “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

7) For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

8) Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9) You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”

The flesh is our sinful nature and worldly pleasures (Titus 2:12). God wants us to set our minds on the Holy Spirit, which is the power of God. When you have peace and joy, then you know your mind is set on the Spirit, which is God’s presence.

Romans 10:3 states, “For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.”

You get God’s righteousness when you believe in and receive Jesus Christ as the ruler of your life (2Cor. 5:21). Doing works to obtain righteousness does not achieve God’s righteousness; instead, we are to submit our bodies as instruments of righteousness (Rom. 6:13). If you do not believe in Jesus as your savior from the consequences of sin, then you are spiritually discerned, that is, unable to know or discern the truth. 1Corinthians 2:14 states, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” If you do not understand the things of God, then believe that He sent His Son into the world to be the savior of the world, and ask for understanding (1John 4:14-15). When you believe, then you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit and have hope.

Hope is Waiting with Patience for God’s Will.

The Bible is filled with hope. We all need hope. Hebrews 11:1 explains, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” The Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:24-27, “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25) But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26) Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27) And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

We hope for what we do not see.
In this passage, they hoped for salvation and redemption. We don’t see it, but we hope for it with patience.
You may be weak in faith, but the Holy Spirit helps you.
The Holy Spirit helps us pray when we don’t know what to pray.
The Holy Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God.

So when your faith is failing, pray for the Holy Spirit to help your faith and to intercede for you. You may not be praying according to God’s will, so your prayers may not be answered as you want. The Holy Spirit wants God’s best for you. I wrote about why prayers go unanswered on my page called Posts about Prayer.

Hope Gives Joy and Peace.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” I love this verse. We learn the following.

God is hope.
He fills you with all joy and peace when you trust in Him.
You will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

How encouraging. Not only does the Holy Spirit intercede for you, but he will give you overflowing hope. And when you trust God to do His will in your life, you will have joy and peace. So, when you lose your joy and peace, it shows that you have stopped praying and trusting God.

Conclusion

The power of the Holy Spirit gives you hope. Satan and the demons steal your hope, joy, and peace, and lie to make you believe there is no hope. They want you to be depressed and suicidal. God wants you to have hope, peace, and joy. BUT you must submit to God by obeying Him and resist the devil. Where do you set your mind? Isaiah 26:3-4 states, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.” Do you trust God and put your hope in Him?

*********************

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright-protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

How To Be Controlled by Love

You have heard that you cannot control what others say or do; you can only control yourself. Do you give Satan control over your life by not resisting his temptations and lies? The Bible says we should be controlled by God’s love through the Holy Spirit. Loving as God loves is sacrificial and very hard to do in our human flesh, which is why we need the Holy Spirit’s power. Satan and his demons do not want you to love others or experience God’s love, so he will cause you to be offended or tempt you to offend others instead of loving them.

In the first half of 2026, I wrote about what to do about demons/evil spirits. In this post, I want to explain how the Holy Spirit (part of the Trinity of God) gives you power to love sacrificially. God the Father (also part of the Trinity) loved us so much that He gave His Son, Jesus Christ (also part of the Trinity), as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins (John 3:16 & Eph. 1:7).

Are You Controlled by Christ’s Love?

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church the following in 2Corinthians 5:14a: “For the love of Christ controls us.” Are you controlled by the love of Christ? For many years of my life, I was controlled by my emotions and the actions of others; read last week’s post to learn more. My mind was focused on the things of this world that made me angry or worried, rather than on God and His truth. I could not love others well. Since then, I have been healed of most of my trauma memories, and I am more focused on the truths of God. I sometimes react when I feel wronged by someone. But love shows mercy to those who wrong us. Mercy is hard to do when you want to punish those who hurt you. But God said we are to show mercy because He showed mercy to us (Luke 6:36 & Eph. 2:4-7). When you are mentally and spiritually healthy, you can be controlled by the love of Christ.

Do You Love Sacrificially?

Jesus said in John 13:34-35 the following: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35) By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Loving others is hard when you never felt loved or feel worthy of love and don’t trust that people love you. But God will heal the broken areas of your life when you submit them to Him and forgive.

I knew God loved me and I wanted to love others, but I couldn’t because I felt as if His love went through holes in my heart. The holes in my heart were healed when I sacrificially forgave those who hurt and betrayed me. Forgiving is a sacrificial act of love toward those who don’t deserve it, just like we did not deserve God’s forgiveness. Romans 5:5 states, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” When your heart is healed, you can retain His love and give it to others.

Are You Rooted and Grounded in God’s Love?

The Apostle Paul explained in Ephesians 3:16-19 some amazing truths: “that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Let’s face it, sometimes it is hard to love the unlovable, mean people in our lives. We are promised the following in this passage. I could write extensively about each of these points. Take time to really comprehend what Paul is writing here.

a. You will have strength with power through His Spirit in your inner being.

b. Christ would dwell in your heart through faith.

c. You will be rooted and grounded in love.

d. Comprehend the breadth, length, height, and depth and to know the love of Christ.

e. Be filled with all the fullness of God.

These promises are yours when you do what is written in Romans 10:9-10, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10) For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” When you believe in your heart, then you will receive the promised Spirit through faith (Gal. 3:14). Then the love of God will be poured into our hearts (Rom. 5:5), and we will be filled with ALL the fullness of God. WOW! Have you ever considered that God indwells you? Do you think that if we truly comprehended this, our lives would be different?

Do You Love from a Pure Heart?

Lastly, we are to love from a pure heart. 1Peter 1:22 states, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.” When we obey the truth and forgive those who offend us, we will have a pure heart and be able to love others sincerely. Also, when we obey the truth to lay aside selfish ambition and humbly honor others above ourselves as Christ did, we will love from a pure heart (Phil. 2:3-8). Do you earnestly love others from a pure heart? Ask God to show you where you are not loving well, then ask Him why. When He shows you, then forgive those who wounded your soul and ask God to heal that memory and purify your heart of that resentment. Read my online book to learn more about healing your soul.

2John 1:3 states, “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.”

*********************

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

Who or What Controls You?

Are you emotionally affected by what people say or do? How do you feel when someone is unkind to you or is upset with you? Some people couldn’t care less about what others say or do, yet others like me are very sensitive to the slightest criticism or rejection. A co-worker told me that I don’t have to give people power over me. I think of that statement often. So today, I am going to write about how to overcome controlling thoughts.

Last week I wrote about “How to Increase Emotional Intelligence.” If you haven’t read that post yet, please do so. In this post, I want to expand on the concepts in last week’s post. Without a healthy spiritual life, you will be tossed about by every wind of doctrine or someone’s feelings or convictions that may not be based on truth (Eph. 4:14).

Controlled by Our Thoughts.

We all want to be accepted, respected, and loved, so when someone is rude or critical toward us, we feel offended. The offense may not be intentional, but we interpret their words or actions as offensive. So, we are really being controlled by our thoughts and how we interpret the other person’s words or actions. For example, I was working on transforming a cargo van into a camper van. My mother-in-law criticized my work. I became offended and upset. What should I have done instead?

I should have taken captive her critical words and said, “That is your opinion (or something like that). Remember, we all want approval, so I took her comment as disapproval, which made me mad. Then she got offended when I became offended.

I have a choice: either let other people’s words or actions into my mind or put them out as I do the trash.

I could have thanked her for her observation and let her words drop to the ground. I have the choice to take offense or let it go, unless a personal boundary is crossed.

We become offended and controlled by our thoughts when we are disappointed. So, recognize that you are disappointed by an unmet expectation, voice your disappointment, but do not give in to the temptation to say something mean or demeaning. Do your best not to phrase your disappointment as a criticism, but say, “I felt… when you said (or did)….”

Not returning a mean or sarcastic comment when you feel offended is hard; that is where emotional intelligence and Spiritual maturity come in. I must admit, I am not as quick as I need to be at taking offensive thoughts captive. But I am getting quicker at recognizing and correcting them and not letting them control my feelings or ruin my relationships with people.

How To Stop Being Controlled by Other People’s Feelings.

Because we instinctively want approval, most people want to please others to win their approval. How do you feel when someone is unkind to you or is upset with you? I feel hurt or rejected. How about you? How do you feel? Again, we are allowing others’ feelings to create thoughts of insecurity, anger, or sadness. So, what should we do when someone’s feelings control our thoughts and emotions?

Recognize what you are feeling and the thoughts you have about the situation that is controlling your feelings. For example, my husband was trying to be helpful, but he felt I was not appreciative enough (his expectation was not met), so he was mad. This controlled how I felt, and my pride showed up to back up that I was appreciative, and I didn’t need to kiss his butt.

I took my hurt feelings captive and humbled myself to talk to him about not meeting his expectations and how my expectations were not met, which hurt my feelings. He then justified his hurt feelings and said mean things, so I left. I humbled myself again and said that we should not go to bed angry, so I put off my hurt feelings and focused on what I could be thankful for.

Remember, Satan does not want us to live in peace. He is always sowing strife to create chaos and division. Recognizing this will help you put off your pride, humble yourself to apologize for not meeting the other person’s expectations, and ask for their forgiveness.

Forgiveness is the key to peace and joy. If the other person still wants to be hurt and angry, then you may need to set boundaries, but let them work through their hurt. Sometimes they will stay offended no matter what you do. Recognize that you cannot control how someone feels or what they do; you can only control how you feel and what you do.

Conclusion

People will have a bad day or feel like being mean; you don’t have to let their feelings or words control you. Be mindful to give grace because you may need grace from others when you are having a bad, frustrating day. For example, I have a neighbor who is ornery and yells at everyone. He came over, yelled at me, and threatened to call the EPA because I was putting leaves in the stream that flowed by my house. I live in the woods, and tree leaves blow into the stream all the time. I did not allow his unkind words or threats to affect my mood or thoughts. To learn how to do this, read my last post on how to increase your emotional intelligence.

RELATED POSTS

Posts on Thoughts

Healthy Boundaries for Toxic Emotions and People

How to Respond to Criticism

The Link Between Disappointment, Resentment, and Self-control

How to Develop Emotional Resilience

*********************

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.