Notes on Agitation, Part I

Last week, I mentioned a pretty good sermon I heard at church on the subject of agitation.

It was good for me, because it is one of my severe problem areas. As a result, it has stuck with me, and I've been thinking much about it.

It was made more interesting because my Pastor said it was one of his problem areas, and he was teaching OUT of his issues, i.e., he had done his research and studying, working through the Bible, searching for what he could use to work on his issue, and then working on shaping it to bring to us so it can help the congregation.

Incidently, someone asked who my Pastor was. Hmm... I go here.

I'm in my 9th year of membership. I've done pretty well under his ministry. I should do a post on my thoughts over the years as being a member. (You would be amazed at the amount of peeps who run up on me and want to discuss this, especially those who know the total arc of who I am and my own personal development over the years).

We've been on the blood of Jesus since late August (for Sundary services). Didn't know there was THAT much concerning the blood of Jesus or blood in general in the Bible, but here it is December, and I think we've only scratched the surface of that subject.

In the midst of all that, this Agitation series has come up in Bible Study, and it only had 3 parts. I imagine we could go further into it, because I know I'll be coming across examples of it in my own reading. I may try to go find a workbook somewhere on the subject. It is a serious topic, and I know there is one out there on it.

Anytime anyone requests notes on something I groan... because my notes are LONG and detailed. But I go ahead and post them, as I know there is a reason and point to it, and that they will help someone else.

Well, I have 7-8 pages of notes. So it may take me 2 to 3 posts just to get through it. And let's not even talk about my own personal thoughts on this subject of agitation. Geez. Like I said, this is one of my nagging problem areas. I may save my personal 2 cents for the weekend.

My notes are detailed, and I'm having to pick through what to post. I missed one of the bible study nights on this subject, but we have the last 7 years of notes on our website, so I will go take a look at the notes for that night, and see if there is anything I may need to add.

I rarely go to the website, but I browsed around this morning and found an interesting article by my pastor on the subject, Overcoming Agitation.

So here you go. Special dedication to my blog sistas Mzinspiredmind and Shai, since they requested this.

Notes on Agitation
(11/25/10; 12/1/10)

[Note: anything in BRACKETS "[ ]", that's not apart of bracket AMP verses - those are my personal thoughts, things I've added in the margin of my notes. I read a lot, and I like to write down a scripture if something is said that reminds me of such. That way, I can go and look it up/ponder/read it later on]

John 14:27 AMP Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]

John 14:1 AMP DO NOT let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me.

In these verses, Jesus is speaking to his disciples.

And these were the core scripture that we will examine.

A definition of agitation:

Agitation: A mental state of extreme emotional disturbance.

We can allow our emotions to become so disturbed that it moves us out of the will of God for our lives.

(That was the purpose of agitation in the first place).

Agitation is connected to fear in some way.

Agitation

-causes you to be unsettled.
-allows FEAR to take over.
-the area of attack is our emotions
-FEAR is the platform where the enemy can operate in your life.

So it's important to deal with the area of agitation, because when you are agitated, you are really operating out of fear.

Everytime you locate what you fear, what you are afraid of, you locate what agitates you.

We can even get over into a state of panic. Panic is defined as groundless fear.

Therefore, if we look closely at the 2 scripture given above, then we can see one thing. Everything has to based on what you believe and what you don't believe.

This is crucial.

-Be HONEST with yourself about when you say you believe something. Don't be saying you believe something just to be religious and sanctimonious. Know what it is that you believe.

-Areas of unbelief in your life ALWAYS produce areas of fear in your life.

-Our greatest fear - it is that God's word won't come to past. It is one thing to read the Word of God, and a whole nother thing to believe what you read.

-Critically important to deal honestly where your unbelief is concerned.

-Ask yourself the question: What is it that I don't believe?

As a result, your prayer will become: Lord, help me with my unbelief.

Examples:

"Lord, I'm having trouble believing You are a healer. This is why I fear that I'm gonna die."

"Lord, I'm having trouble believing You are a provider. This is why I'm afraid I'm gonna get put out."

It cannot be said enough, we have to individually spend critical time examining our areas of unbelief and working on it.

Our lives have to get to a point where, when we face something, that we know it don't look good right now, but I choose to believe God and His Word in this situation.

It is a choice.

Trouble can be all around us, but we cannot let it get in us and infect our heart.

[I wrote in the margin of my notes, Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. A version of this verse that made me go "O_o" is Proverbs 4:23 Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.

Hmm... I think I remember this because I wrote a post on it: Food for Thought: The Ultimate Trump Card.]

2 Peter 3:14 (Amplified Bible) So, beloved, since you are expecting these things, be eager to be found by Him [at His coming] without spot or blemish and at peace [in serene confidence, [a]free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts].

It it important to learn how to hold on to your PEACE when agitation arises.

For:

PEACE is a by-product of FAITH
AGITATION is a by-product of FEAR

Both are based on what you believe versus what you don't believe.

As a result, personal peace is a very valuable asset in the life of a Christian. Have respect for how powerful peace is. And don't lose your peace because everyone around you can't find theres.

Make it a point to identify WHAT or WHO is stealing your peace. Confront and deal with it.

A couple of examples of agitation can be found in the scripture:

Daniel 2:1 IN THE second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams by which his spirit was troubled and agitated and his sleep went from him.

Daniel 4:4-5 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house and prospering in my palace.
I had a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts and imaginations and the visions of my head as I was lying upon my bed troubled and agitated me.

Notice, in the above scripture, the different avenues by which fear and agitation can come into our lives: dreams, thoughts, imaginations, visions.

Make sure that you understand the following: Dreams don't have greater authority in my life over the Word of God.

All of this has potential to cause us to become agitated and to get worried. We can get over into worry.

Definition of Worry: It is negative meditation on the issue of concern; it involes taking a negative thought and holding on to it.

Immediately, go to your Word, find some information on that issue, grab it, and believe it.

[Concerning worry, one of the scripture I myself grab a hold of and believe is Phillipians 4:6-7 (Message Version) Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

This is my worry scripture. I am sure there are many others, but this comes to mind. I grab it, believe it, and work it. Period. I even wrote a WHOLE post on it a while back. (See Sunday Scripture III)

And I find it quite interesting that peace is also mentioned in this scripture. Hmmm]

I think that's a good stopping point. Later on tonight, or in the morning, I will put up notes on concerning maintaining an attitude of Thanksgiving is an antedote to Agitation.

I hope that was helpful. It was helpful to me, even giving me a chance to refer back to some old posts I've written concerning the subject...

Stay tuned for Part II.

Post 7: Tales from the Smile Box, Part II

I am posting a bit late, ain't I?

I've been out doing some grocery shopping.

Chugging right along with the 40 by 40 posts.

In 33 days, I'll be 40 years old! GLORY!!

Well anyway, here's another little nugget from my little smile box. It tends to stand out because it is written on a green notecard. My bookclub sister Kat, aka Obi-Wan Kenobi (I really look up to her. I SO want to be like her when I grow up), for some bizarre reason picked it up and ran REAL fast with it. I mean REAL fast. I've heard her quote it a couple of times in journal writing group AND in our finance group.

She absolutely LOVES this saying.

I like it too.

"God does not consult my past to determine my future."

Another little something I heard a good ten years ago in some sermon while living in New Orleans, from that same evangelist who specializes in wisdom. I wrote it down, and never forgot it. (Man, I scrawled a TON of notes that night. Took me months to research them out.)

God doesn't do consultation with the past.

But it's funny that when you share your dreams with people, some are not supportive. They hem and haw about your past.

And that brings to mind another lil' something, that I don't have written anywhere.

"Do not share your uncommon dreams with common people."

We won't get into that. For that is self-exlpanatory.

(Homies, ya'll needs to check who's in your entourage. I do too.)

But when I look at the above short sentence concerning past and future, I tend to look at other words: the verbs.

I, as a writer, (yeah, I call myself a writer, been calling myself that for YEARS, I am what I am, shorty), understand one thing: sentences are held up by the verbs. I, in my own writing, am very careful to choose my verbs wisely.

You don't believe me?

Check it out:

She crawled to the door.
She walked to the door.
She ran to the door.

And you know how, uh rigorous, I tend to be in my writing.

She kissed that man.
She ignored that man.
She pinched that man.
She shot that man!!!!!

Yeah... verbs make the world go 'round.

Verbs do the heavy work in a sentence. They are visual. They hold up, i.e., carry the weight of the entire sentence.

That verbs "consult" and "determine" stand out to me for some reason. Immediately.

So I decided to look them up.

"Consult" means to seek advice or information from; ask guidance from; to refer to for information; to have regard for (a person's interest, convenience, etc.) in making plans; to consider or deliberate; take counsel; implies talking over a situation or a subject with someone to decide points in doubt.

"Determine" means to to settle or decide; to cause, affect, or control.

I understand the meaning of the verb of that sentence... so now I can have a better understanding of what it means.

God wipes the slate clean. He don't care about the past.

He sees the end from the beginning. Period.

So we can infer from the definition of "consult", several different things:

God does not seek advice or information from my past in order to make decisions about my future. He does not ponder my past in order to settle my future.

So why can't I get on board and be the same way?

Why must I ponder all the little points of doubt?

There's an interesting verse that supports this: Jeremiah 29:11. I'm posting 3 versions of it.

(CEV) "I will bless you with a future filled with hope--a future of success, not of suffering."

(AMP) "For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome."

(NIV) For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

That's an incredible peace of scripture... full of peace and hope... no harm, no evil...

A good future.

And I best be holding strong to that verse.

Instead of holding on so strongly to those things (fears, doubts, people, failures, lies) in the past that have kept me from having hope for a good future.

Post 5: Tales from the Smile Box, part I

I've been doing a little New Years cleaning this week, organizing and throwing out much stuff.

Out with the old, in with the new, you know.

Anyway, I came across my "smile box" which was sitting on my bookshelf. It is not something that I lost, but I knwo I haven't gone through it in awhile. I tend to go through it once per month.
It is a box of quotes and scriptures and anything else that remind me to stay positive. It is full of little scraps of paper containing any and everything that keeps my head straight.

I was showing it to my cubicle mate, The Cowgirl Cre a couple of years ago. For some reason, I brought it to work. We were looking at some of the various quotes, and Cowgirl Cre must've gotten excited, because she grabbed a post-it note from her desk and printed very clearly, with a blue sharpie, 4 simple words.

God don't like ugly!

LOL. We laughed so hard at that.

But I have kept her hastily scrawled thought in the smile box. It reminds me to keep my stank attitudes in check, and make an effort (no matter how much it pains me) to be and act nice.

You get the drift... the smile box can be important if used correctly.

Anyway, the box contains a scripture that I came across some 9 years ago. This was at a time when I was sorely depressed about just about everything going on in my life: living in New Orleans away from my family, being caught up in a bad job and jacked up marriage... just looking straight crazy, you know? When I think of the turbulent times in my life, that time of my life right there, from 1999-2000, is right up there at the top of the list.

But one day, while sitting in my office reading and eating my lunch, I came across this verse

Hebrews 13:5 (Amplified Version)

"...for He God Himself has said I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you donw (relax my hold on you)! Assuredly not!"

That right there jacked my faith up a notch.

Man, I got so excited about that that I showed it to one of my coworkers, a biologist who worked on my floor. She got excited by this little treasure also. We printed it out in size 32 font and posted it on the walls of our offices.

So we could walk in and see it...

Read it, chew on it, and meditate on it, ponder it, pontificate...

Day after day after day after day.

That verse right there reminds me that if no one in this world cares for me...

God does.

He will not fail me. He will not leave me without support.

I am happy about that.

That is something that gives this Oldgirl hope.

That is something that makes this Oldgirl smile:)