May your life be filled with the abundance and peace God desires for you, containing all that is beautiful, best, bountiful, cheerful, good, joyful, loving, prosperous, and wealthy [Hebrew and Greek definitions of abundance], as well as existing in a state of safety, happiness, good health, friendship, rest, and wholeness so that all is well in your life [Hebrew and Greek definitions of peace].

May you be comforted from all past and present sorrows. May you receive compassion as freely as you have shown it. May all your fears be replaced with faith and peace. May you forgive those who have harmed you in the past so that you are released to reach your future goals and desires. May the greater understanding of God’s love for you which you have gained this year be used as an unshakeable basis for your self worth and foundation for your life. May all your relationships be healthy, rewarding, and free from resentment. May the voice of God be clear in your spirit so that your words and decisions flow from His wisdom, bringing healing and wholeness to every aspect of your life.

Have a very blessed and happy New Year!

Performing this test will help you determine how much anxiety, fear, and stress are affecting your life, as well as some of the possible root causes. The official name of the test is the Rhomberg neurologic test and it will immediately show if you suffer from low level anxiety syndrome.

Stand with your feet put together. Then stand on your tips toes. Now close your eyes. If you cannot keep your balance once you close your eyes, you have low level anxiety syndrome. People who pass the test and can keep their balance while their eyes are closed will have an anxiety level of 10 during an immediate fearful situation, but the next day be back to level 1. Those with low level anxiety syndrome stay at an anxiety level or 4 or 5 all the time.

You may recognize these other common physical symptoms associated with low level anxiety syndrome.

People with low level anxiety often have numerous allergies. They are also sensitive to scents such as perfumes or newsprint. Caffeine may keep them up all night. In addition, they are usually very sensitive to even small doses of prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

The source of low level anxiety syndrome is holding on to undesirable emotions.

If you didn’t pass the test and realize that you live in a constant state of low level anxiety, evaluate which of the following undesirable emotions are the source of your anxiety. People who are perfectionists often suffer from low level anxiety. Unresolved bitterness, unforgiveness, or jealousy create anxiety. Broken heart issues, physical abuse, poor relationships with parents or siblings, feeling that you must jump through hoops to be accepted are all possible sources of low level anxiety.

Low level anxiety reduces the body’s ability to eliminate toxins, causing a variety of illnesses.

Due to the low level anxiety, cell membranes maintain an unhealthy level of rigidity. The increased rigidity hinders the body’s ability to eliminate toxins, drugs, and xenoestrogens (Xenoestrogens are a chemical common to many dairy and meat products–ones that contain growth hormones–and pesticides. They mimic or “act like” additional estrogen in the body, creating numerous health problems including various types of cancer.).

Illnesses such as chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, ovarian cysts, and fibrocystic cyst disease have their root in the emotions mentioned above that cause low level anxiety.

Bringing resolution to your undesirable emotions is the beginning point for reducing anxiety.

If you are a perfectionist by nature, start allowing yourself to be human. Allow more reasonable time limits for achieving goals. Rather than trying to live at a level higher than the rest of the human race, be happy with the person you are, appreciating that you are a diligent person yet being loving enough to yourself to allow and forgive mistakes.

If deep seated bitterness, unforgiveness, or jealousy is the source of your anxiety, resolution needs to take place. Realize that resolution does not need to involve the other person, as resolution with the other person is often not possible; it takes place within you. For a detailed explanation of this concept, read my post, Forgiveness or Reconciliation: Understanding the Difference.

If you have been through physical abuse, seriously consider seeing a therapist or attending a support group to work through the emotions. If finances are an issue for therapy, shelters for abused women sometimes provide free consulting with therapists.

If you feel that you must “jump through hoops” to be loved, this resolution begins within you, realizing that you are a valuable solely because you exist; your personal value must be based on what God says of you. Since His love is unfailing and unchanging, this keeps your self worth intact even when others do not value you properly. Read through the following posts:
Rejection to Self Esteem Building
Does Love Have to be Earned
A Love that Isn’t Earned
Healing One’s Self Worth

If poor relationships with family are the main source of your anxiety, you may wish to consult with a therapist or pastor for assistance. Also read through the posts:
Healing Through Overcoming Family Past
Forgiveness or Reconciliation: Understanding the Difference.

The details on the Rhomberg Test and Low Level Anxiety Syndrome came from a brochure by Dr. Peter Eckhart, www.womhoo.com .

Table of contents for Believe You Deserve to Be Well

1. Believe You Deserve to be Well- Part 1
2. Believe You Deserve to be Well- Part 2

What can practically be done about the past failures and guilt?

There are some simple steps you can daily implement to help you move past guilt.  (If you missed Part 1 of this 2-part post, please use the above series link. Part 1 explains what God Himself says about His compassionate, forgiving, uncomdemning nature to help you remove emotional hindrances in receiving the good He desires to bring into your life. This is heavier reading than most posts on this site but should help those of you struggling with guilt, condemnation, and other negative thought patterns that hinder healing. )

First, a reminder– as mentioned in Part 1, to receive healing it is only logical that all habits of a destructive lifestyle need to be left in the past.   Scripture refers to this as repentance, a 180 degree turn around. Otherwise, it is like the continually unsuccessful dieter who starves herself or himself for a couple of days, only to binge for several days thereafter. Next, as also mentioned in Part 1 of this post, just as God’s mercies toward us are new every morning we need to have mercy on ourselves and release the guilt of past failures. If God deems us worthy of such mercy, we can honestly show such mercy to ourselves.

But what about those who are plagued by guilt, not as much self-imposed, but from inaccurate childhood teachings about God that have left them with images of an angry, harmful, unforgiving God? If you suffer from harmful, inaccurate childhood teachings about God, it will take some discipline of focusing on truth to eradicate that input.

On the practical side, many people print out a list of verses such as covered in this article and spend sometimes even months of daily repeating out loud the truth God says about Himself, i.e., God’s continually renewing compassion, graciousness, desire for our wholeness and superabundant life in quality. Another beneficial verse along this line is Psalm 103:10, “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” If people have put into your mind as a child the image of God standing over you eagerly desiring to punish you for the slightest mistake, it is a fallacy to be eradicated. ( For those who would like to read an extended passage of Scripture that discusses numerous groups of people who suffered from their own failures yet God, in His compassion, restored their lives, Psalm 107 is posted below this article.)

On a similar vein, Psalm 103 speaks of numerous good that God eagerly bestows on us, but verse 5 specifically says that He is the God “who satisfies your desires with good things.” A person ridden with guilt, self-imposed or from inaccurate religious teaching, needs to admit to himself that such feelings result in anything but feeling of an overwhelmingly satisfied life. God, on the other hand, satisfies our lives with good things. There does need to be a level of cooperation here, and some self-evaluation is necessary to determine if we are cooperating in receiving the good.

You can begin anew in your view of yourself and of God.

Cooperate with God in letting go of the guilt from false images of Him—replacing them with truth—and in the forgiving of yourself. Taking the verses discussed in this article, these truths about God, and focusing on them will go a long way in aiding your healing. As you come to terms with how much good God desires for you, how much healing He desires for you, (Scripture calls this renewing your mind), it will bring relief from the self-abasement. The realization that God values you so highly that He continually exists in a state of desiring your healing and well-being can increase one’s self worth and cause you to grasp hold of wanting the same healing, wholeness, and well-being for you that God wants for you.

Psalm 107

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say this– those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.
Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle.
They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains,
for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High. So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.

Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.

Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters.
They saw the works of the LORD, his wonderful deeds in the deep. For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits’ end. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.

He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there. He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs; there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they could settle. They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest; he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds diminish. Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow; he who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in a trackless waste. But he lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like flocks. The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut their mouths.

Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD.

Table of contents for Believe You Deserve to Be Well

1. Believe You Deserve to be Well- Part 1
2. Believe You Deserve to be Well- Part 2

Whether or Not You Believe You Deserve to be Well Greatly Affects All Aspects of Your Health!

Though it sounds like an absurd question, but medical science has proven that your mental perspective, what you think about yourself and God, has a great effect on physical, emotional, and spiritual health. (This is Part 1 of a 2-part post. It is heavier reading than most posts on this site but should help those of you struggling with guilt, condemnation, and other negative thought patterns that hinder healing. )

For the purpose of example, there is a particular area in the medical field in which the procedure actually brings back to one’s mind past emotional hurts that are causing current physical health problems. Brief, physical treatments are then done which actually remove the pent up emotion from that bad emotional experience which has been stored in the body. During the physical treatment, you are asked to state out loud phrases along the lines of, “I deserve to be healthy. I deserve to be free from allergies” etc. People are then cured of various recurring physical ailments once that stored negative emotion from a past experience was removed from the body.

Believing that you deserve to be well is just as necessary a perspective in the area of faith and the spiritual realm.

In Matthew 9:29, while bringing healing to people, Jesus said, “According to your faith will it be done to you.” The Amplified Version (expanded from the Greek) says, “According to your faith and trust and reliance on the power invested in Me be it done to you.” Most anyone you talk to, regardless of their religious beliefs or the lack of them, believes that Jesus healed people. Yet even Jesus said that people’s healing was dependent on whether or not people believed that they would be healed or, one may say, whether or not they believed that God desired to heal them. (1. Click on the text link for “faith” to open a window with the Greek definition. 2.Click on “to be done” for the Greek definition. 3. Click the text link here to read why I use Greek definitions.)

Whether you are a believer in God, or if you are just interested in knowing what Scripture says about God’s desire to heal our lives, it will be beneficial to focus on a few brief examples which show God’s heart and character with regard to healing. This insight will help one develop a perspective that believes he or she deserves to be well.

Regardless of our past failures, we can believe that we “deserve to be healed” or that God desires for us to be healed. Scripture says, “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. (Lam. 3:22,23)” The phrase “great love” is, at times, translated into English as “mercy.” Hence, you may hear people say that God’s mercy towards us is new every morning. When this verse is studied in the original Hebrew, it does speak that, first, God’s loving-kindness and compassions toward us start over new and fresh every morning, as if we had a clean slate.

Second, these feelings toward us from God are far superior to what we experience in the fluctuating human emotions of the people around us. Not only are God’s feelings of loving-kindness and multiple compassions toward us secure and steady, i.e. faithful, but they are exceedingly, abundantly, plenteously secure and steady. Where on earth can one find such a relationship as that? Meditating on that reality alone of God’s true feelings toward us can bring a flood of healing to one’s spirit.

Third, once we realize that God’s mercies toward us are new every morning, it is time to have mercy on ourselves, to forgive ourselves of our failures and stop allowing the guilt of the past to keep us from physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual healing! (In a future article, we will discuss in more detail how to deal with recurring guilt.) (4. Click links for full definitions in Hebrew of the main words in the above verses: great love, compassions, great, faithfulness. 5. Click here to read why I use Hebrew definitions.)

When we feel undeserving of being healed, or feel that there is some reason that God does not desire us to be well, we need to change our focus from guilt and self-abasement to the truth of what God says about His perspective in this matter.

At one point in my life, when I was going through deep grief from the loss of a dear friend to cancer, God spoke a specific word of encouragement to my spirit. Knowing that the untimely death of my friend was humanly inexplainable, God said to me, “When you face things in life which you are not capable of understanding, which seem to make absolutely no sense in the human realm, focus on what you know to be true.” Throughout Scripture, God says of Himself, “I am compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” It was holding on to the truths regarding the nature and character of God that brought healing in that time of grief. This principle has come back to mind many times through the years and has brought healing in a variety of situations.

There are countless names that God uses to describe Himself throughout Scripture; they address His nature or character. In Exodus 15:16, God says, “…for I am the LORD, who heals you.” The name God uses in the Hebrew is Y@hovah Rapha’, meaning the eternal, self-existent one who heals and makes thoroughly whole. (6. Click here for Hebrew definition of “Lord who heals you.”) It would be negligent not to mention that this statement is prefaced by a condition of obedience to righteous standards. However, I think most people would agree that it goes without saying that if one lives a life that is destructive in nature to yourself or others, it would be absurd to expect healing when you are repeatedly causing the damage yourself. God chose this name to express to us that it is His nature to heal, to make our lives thoroughly whole. This means God desires healing for us in every aspect of our lives—physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually.

This desire of God to exist in a healing relationship with us, that it is His very nature to do so, is again expressed through Jesus’ life and words.

In John 10:10, Jesus says, “The thief [referring to satan or forces of evil] does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (7. Click here for the Greek definition of “abundance.”) The translation into the English word, “abundantly,” does not do justice to what Jesus was saying here. The Greek word refers to exceedingly, superabundantly, above and beyond measure in quantity and quality, even vehemently so. God’s expression of Himself through Jesus and the work that He completed while here in human form, was to bring to each person the type of well-being physically, emotionally, etc. that usually we only dream of. Yet Jesus said His purpose in coming was to bring exactly that to us. Yes, God desires all aspects of your life to be healed!

(In Part 2 of this post, we will more specifically discuss dealing with feelings of guilt and past failures.)

Table of contents for Guilt-Free Confidence

1. Guilt-Free Confidence Part 1
2. Guilt-Free Confidence Part 2

Continuing with the second part of our post on Guilt-Free Confidence, let’s look at 2 benefits from a guilt-free, confident relationship with God.

(If you missed Part 1 of Guilt-Free Confidence, please use the series link above to go there now.)

When you exist in a guilt-free relationship with God, it changes how you communicate with God in prayer.

Look at this beautiful quote from Heb 4:15,16 about confidence in your relationship with God.

For we do not have a High Priest [reference to Jesus] who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning. Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy for our failures and find grace to help in good time for every need, appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it.

Remember what I said about guilt in the beginning of this post? Guilt is a type of fear that keeps you from living at your best in a relationship. When you realize that God has removed your guilt and you live in a firm, safe relationship with Him, that confidence changes all your conversation with Him. You freely come to God with your needs, feeling confident in His help. The word “confidence” in the Hebrews 4 quote is the Greek term, “parrhesia,” meaning “outspokenness, bluntness, boldness of speech, freely, openly, plainly.” A clear understanding of your relationship with God will cause you to be confident enough to talk freely and plainly with God about your needs, desires, and dreams.

When you exist in a guilt-free relationship with God, it changes the level of prayers that you see answered.

Remember in Matthew 9:29 what Jesus said regarding results from our prayers, “According to your faith it will be done to you.” When you realize that you have a firm, safe relationship with God upon which you trust and rely, such confidence greatly increases your faith. You believe in God’s loving care for you. You believe that He listens to your prayers and follows through with the promises to you that you see in scripture. As a result, you freely come to God with your needs, feeling completely confident in His help or having “faith”, and thus receive the answers to your prayers. According to your faith – your trust and reliance on the relationship with Him – the answers to your prayers take place.

1. Greek definitions were taken from Strong’s Dictionary of New Testament Words.
2. Meriam-Webster Dictionary
3. thefreedictionary.com

Table of contents for Guilt-Free Confidence

1. Guilt-Free Confidence Part 1
2. Guilt-Free Confidence Part 2

Feelings of guilt hinder the quality of our relationships, both in the natural and spiritual realms. God desires that you live your life in confidence, free from guilt.

Guilt is a hindrance in any relationship. A person does not act according to the giftings of his personality, the best that he is capable of, when suffering from guilt, because it is a form of fear. It makes the person fear another conflict with that person or fear failure when facing a similar type situation as in the past. Guilt also often causes one to give in to manipulation from controlling people’s selfish desires, even when the decision is against his better judgment.

In one’s relationship with God, guilt also keeps a person from interacting in a healthy manner and, thus, relating to God with the confidence in which He desires us to interact with Him. If you feel that you have not already received forgiveness from God for past failures, or are struggling with the feeling that God is holding the past against you, please read the post, Hold on to Forgiveness Instead of Failure, before finishing this article. This post will deal with God’s descriptions of interacting with Him through a perspective of guilt-free confidence.

God clearly expresses His desire that each of us enjoy a favorable relationship with Him.

In the following quote from Romans 5:1,2,5, God states that He desires us to grasp the fact that we can “hold [on to] and enjoy” a relationship of peaceful reconciliation with Him.

Rom. 5:1,2,5 Since we are acquitted and given a right standing with God through faith, let us grasp the fact that we have the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy through Jesus. Through Him we have by faith into this state of God’s favor in which we firmly and safely stand. Let us rejoice in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God…..Such hope never disappoints us…

The easiest way to cover the wealth contained in this quote is to list the various points based on the meaning of the key words in the original Greek with which they were written.

1. The Greek word for the phrase “peace of reconciliation” is “eirene,” containing the emotional states of quietness and rest as well as “set at one again” or reconciled.(1) Reconciliation is defined as either “restoring harmony in a friendship”(2) or “re-establishing a close relationship.”(3) God wants us to grasp the fact that, as far as He is concerned, there is rest and harmony in the close relationship between you and Him, and He wants you to live in the enjoyment of that fact.

2.You may think, “How can I feel such harmony between myself and God after all my failures?” The first phrase in the quote explains how. “Faith” in God gives you a right standing with Him. In the Greek, “faith” or “pistis” is your “moral conviction of the truthfulness of God, especially reliance upon Christ for salvation, as well as constancy in such profession.”(1) The Romans 5 quote is part of a discussion in chapter 4 on Abraham being the father of faith because he “believed God and it was credited to his account as righteousness and right standing with God (Rom.4:3,22;Gen.15:6).”

3. Your faith (reliance, continual trust) in God’s forgiveness allows you to be “acquitted” by God of your past failures, just as when a jury “acquits” an accused person, freeing him of all guilt. The discussion in Romans 4 on Abraham ends by saying, the words about Abraham’s faith giving him a right standing with God were not written for his sake alone, “but for our sakes, too. Right standing with God will be granted to us also who believe, trust in, adhere to, and rely on God who raised Jesus from the dead, who was betrayed and put to death because of our misdeeds…absolving us from all guilt before God.”

Let’s focus back on our original quote and paraphrase it, “Because of your faith or trust in God’s acquittal or removal of our guilt, He desires you to grasp the fact that you can enjoy a restored, close harmonious relationship with Him.”

4. The “state of God’s favor” in which you firmly and safely stand by faith is the word often translated as “grace.” The Greek for “grace” is “charis,” meaning “graciousness of manner or actions, especially the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life; benefit, favor.”(1) To paraphrase, God desires you to realize that He is expecting you to live enjoying a favorable relationship with Him in which you benefit from His gracious attitude and actions toward you.

5. In God’s perspective, you “firmly and safely stand” in this gracious, guilt-free relationship with Him. Let your mind grasp hold of the peace involved when you realize that your standing in a relationship with someone is firm and safe. The Greek for “stand” is “histemi,” a prolonged form of the root word, meaning to abide or continue.(1) Again, God’s perspective is that the relationship between you is a gracious one that will continue to be safe and firm; it is lasting. Allow yourself to enjoy the incredible peace and satisfaction from a firm, safe relationship with God.

6. The next sentence in the Romans 5 quote says, “Let us rejoice in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.” It is good to remind you here that the term “hope” in scripture is not like the typical concept in English. In English, the term “hope” implies wishful thinking of something that may never happen. The Greek term used in this sentence, “elpis,” means to confidently anticipate or expect; it also contains the idea that you feel pleasure because of the confidence that what you are anticipating will actually happen.(1) God wants you to rejoice because you can live each and every day confidently anticipating, expecting to enjoy a lasting relationship with God in which you experience all the glories, all the wonders that exist in His person.

7. The last part of the quote, verse 5, says “Such hope never disappoints us…” What a phenomenally wonderful thought — a relationship in which you will not be disappointed. When you by faith accept God’s forgiveness or acquittal of your failures, you enter a relationship with Him of guilt-free confidence. That is where God desires you to exist. He desires you to grasp hold of that fact, enjoy it, live in confident anticipation that a harmonious relationship with God of favor, graciousness, and benefits is also a firm, safe, and lasting relationship in which you can daily experience all the glories existing in His personality. No wonder He tells us that we will not be disappointed!

In Part 2 of this post, we will wrap up by briefly looking at 2 benefits from a guilt-free, confident relationship with God.

1. Greek definitions were taken from Strong’s Dictionary of New Testament Words.
2. Meriam-Webster Dictionary
3. thefreedictionary.com

Each of us have ideas of how other people will respond to us based on past experiences. There may be certain personality types which do not mesh well with our own, so we immediately assume anyone with one of those personality types will not like us and will not bring good into our lives. Or, some have a more extreme view, going through life assuming that it is most likely that any person will not like them. Obviously, past negative experiences tend to leave a deeper mark than positive ones. It is beneficial to clear the path for abundance by evaluating and altering negative views from past experiences that we project onto people because projection repels, rather than attracts, whatever good people may bring into our lives.

Projection is the opposite of the Law of Attraction.

For those who have not read about projection before, it is a term from psychology which basically is the opposite of the Law of Attraction, repelling good instead of attracting it. In the Law of Attraction, no matter how bad your life has been up to that point, you choose to change and believe that your life is destined for good purposes and good results; you choose to believe that abundance will come to you. This causes you to be looking for, and eventually see, the right openings and beneficial connections which you otherwise would have missed if you had a negative, defeatist attitude.

With projection, a person projects negative feelings and perceptions from past experiences into present job situations and relationships. He or she expects the same past bad scenarios to repeat themselves, or is afraid that they will. The person may frequently change jobs or change relationships due to this unrecognized habit of projection. Completely unaware, the person now interprets people’s responses on the new job or in the new personal life in light of those past experiences; it is like there is a negative filter on all input, hindering good, positive progress in life with regards to jobs, relationships, and other opportunities.

The other people are usually unaware the person is wrongfully interpreting all their info. He/she then responds in a negative defensive, angry, or hurt attitude toward the new people, actually recreating a constant cycle of the same old problems in the present situations. To put it in simplest form, your negative view of how others will act toward you cause peoples to “treat you poorly” and create more negative experiences; however, it is your own response and actions based on your negative perceptions from the past that make people again react negatively toward you.

When you evaluate your job and personal life situations, do you change jobs and relationships frequently due to past problems recurring no matter what the job or who you are involved with?  Or, do you experience the same type of problems, regardless of the job or relationship.  If so, realize the people and situations are different. It is most likely your projection, or negative info filter, which is recreating the same problems regardless of where you are or who you are with.

A decision to forgive yourself and others is necessary to free yourself from the past. It does not mean that you are foolish and go into situations or relationships blindly, not protecting yourself from fraud or physical abuse, etc. However, you need to evaluate situations and responses in light of the present. Do not assume people are treating you badly. Expect people to like you. Expect good opportunities to come to you. Think and act in ways that are positive and attract abundance. And, if you think someone is treating you the same as in the past, possibly recreating a bad scenario, be sure to ask for clarification in a non-hostile way.

If you need to forgive yourself and others, take a look at these posts:

Healing by Forgiving Yourself
Holding on to Forgiveness Instead of Failure
Resentment and Anger Management
Forgiveness or Reconciliation: Understanding the Difference

In addition to opening the path of abundance by removing projection from your relationships with people, you can also benefit by evaluating to see if similar projection is taking place in your relationship with God.

The causes of projection in one’s relationship with God are usually much more obvious:

1. Past abusive relationships with fathers or ex-husbands cause one to project those characteristics onto God  due to the analogy in Scripture of God as a “father.” 

2. Because of God as an authority figure, one may project bad past experiences with any authority figure, parental or otherwise, onto God.

3. Some religious leaders or other professed religious people have presented God has a harsh, unforgiving, unreachable person.

Though Scripture makes clear that spiritual beings are neither male or female, God often uses the analogy of a father to illustrate to us certain positive characteristics seen in good earthly fathers which also exist in Himself. The analogy is intended to help us understand His undying love and compassion.

Throughout my career, I have made it a point to remind people that God’s fatherly characteristics are those of, not just a good father but, a perfect one, since God is perfect; that concept has been helpful to people in overcoming projection of the past onto God. However, the main way to overcome such negative thoughts about God is by replacing them with the truth about Himself that He has provided in Scripture. If you realize that you are projecting past negative experiences onto God and you need to change them, clearing the path of abundance between you and Him, take a look at these past posts. Just like any good father, Father God desires a clear path to pour all kinds of loving abundance into your life. Choose to make yourself receptive to His abundance!

God Wants Our Lives to be Well
Handling the Fear of God’s Rejection

Today we’re going to go through 7 Reader Submitted Questions and give you the links to the articles provided to  bring healing to those life issues.

1. How to Forgive Yourself
   Healing by Forgiving Yourself
   Hold on to Forgiveness Instead of Failure
   
2. How to Deal with Emotional Pain from Betrayal
   Hope for the Betrayed Heart
   Not Allowing Hurt to Stay Central Focus
   
3. Recognizing Love or When a Person Truly Loves You
   Recognizing Real Love Part 1
   Recognizing Real Love Part 2
   Defining Harmful Behavior
   A Love that Isn’t Earned
   
4. How to Follow Through on Goals
   Break Out of the Rut
   Make Room for Restoration
   
5. How to Overcoming Fear and Negative Thoughts
   Practical Ideas for Overcoming Fear
   Relinquishing Fear Video
   Take Charge of Your Thoughts, Take Charge of Your Life
   Better Thoughts for a Better Life
   Making Real Change to Thought, Feelings, or Behavior
   The Necessity of Strength and Courage
   Enforcing Hope in Your Thought Life
   
6. How to Deal with Emotionally Destructive Relationships
   Healing through Overcoming Family Past
   Defining Harmful Behavior
   Responding to Abusive Relationships
   
7. How do You Release Guilt
   Forgetting What God Forgets
   Why Guilt is Unnecessary
   2 Simple Steps to Releasing Guilt
   Healing by Forgiving Yourself Video

Please note that since these are past posts, the Listen Now feature that appears for you to listen on your laptop/desktop or download these archived articles to your iPod or MP3 will not be available as the company only offers it for 1 month after posting.

Table of contents for Characteristics of Father God

1. Characteristics of Father God Part 1
2. Characteristics of Father God Part 2

We are covering today 6 more Fatherly Characteristics of God. 

Our knowledge of God’s Fatherly Characteristics removes harmful perceptions that we may have carried over from childhood experiences with our own parents and greatly enhances our ability to interact and receive good from Father God.

This is Part 2 of this post.  If you missed Part 1, please use the above link.

Perfect for Us and to Us

God says,

As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. Ps. 18:30

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Mt 5:48

God is a perfect Father. He is not capable of the failings of earthly fathers. The Greek word for perfect, teleios, means, complete in mental and moral character (Strong’s Dictionary of NT Words). Not only are His thoughts and character perfect, but as Ps. 18 says, His ways are also perfect. In other words, God says that His interactions with us are unflawed. This is vital for us to keep in mind. People blame God for so many bad things that happen to them. Does a good parent purposely harm his child? Of course not. Any parent that does is considered to be mentally and morally corrupt. God informs us that He is perfect; there is no flaw in His character or dealings with us.

Giving

God says,

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father, who does not change like shifting shadows. Jms. 1:17

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Mt. 7:11

As with any good father, God delights in giving to His children, doing things for them that bring joy and excitement to their hearts. God says that only “good and perfect” gifts come from Him. This tells us 2 things: (1) God gives or does things that are considered as gifts from Him to us. (2) He only gives good gifts, again rejecting the theory that evil comes from Father God. In the second quote, God compares Himself to earthly parents to again illustrate His superiority as a parent. We as good, earthly parents love to give good gifts to our children. Even so, we each know that our character, even at its best, is flawed. Since God’s character is flawless, how much more does His heart delight in doing good to us and giving good things to us!

Protector

God says,

Ps 68:5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling.

There are countless passages that describe Father God as our protector, such as the ones that refer to Him as our Rock, Shelter, a shield around us, etc. But this quote is especially beautiful because God remarks that He is particularly concerned and protective of those who are normally neglected by society. As this was written approximately 2500 years ago, it was obviously during a period in earth’s history where the job market was male dominated; neither were there the infrastructures for welfare assistance that are available in financially stable countries now. For the most part, orphans and widows back then were without a source of income and without hope. God describes Himself as the Father/Protector of each person who looks to Him, those without hope, and particularly those whom society has let fall through the cracks.

Ever Available

God says,

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Is. 9:6

This quote is part of a prophecy of the birth of Jesus, put to writing about 700 years before Jesus’ birth. Though it speaks of several fatherly traits, such as a counselor (advice-giver) and Prince of Peace (bringing peace to those He is ruling over), I wanted to focus on the term, Everlasting Father. This name of Father God describes His availability. Good earthly fathers try to be involved in their children’s lives, though their continual presence is not possible due to full-time jobs, other responsibilities, and a limited physical life of usually, at the most, 60-80 years. God is our Everlasting Father. He is always with us, always available for us, and will never die.

Disciplines Us for our Good

God says,

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good. Heb. 12:7,10

God does disciplines us to develop our spirits and character but He is careful to contrast His discipline of us with that of an earthly father. Notice God says that an earthly father disciplines us the best that he knows how, “but” He disciplines us for our good. His knowledge of the situation and wisdom of how to deal with it are never lacking, so His discipline does always bring about good in us, whereas an earthly father’s discipline may be overbearing, not strict enough, or lacking in wisdom or effectiveness in some other way.

Forgiving

God says,

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 Jn. 1:9

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Col. 3:13

Unlike what many of us were taught as children, God describes Himself as faithful to forgive. When we come to Him and confess our failings, He faithfully forgives us. Notice in the second quote, it tells us to be patient with each other and forgive whatever grievances we have against each other because that is the same way God responds with His forgiveness towards us. The Greek for forgive, aphete, means to let go, leave behind, dismiss, or cancel the debt (pg. 1430 FLSB). God is not unforgiving. He does not hold on to bad attitudes toward us when we fail. Just as He tells us to do with each other, when we ask for forgiveness, He “lets it go,” leaving the past in the past.

Conclusion

A Prayer for You-

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. Eph. 1:17

I appreciate so much the ReceiveHealing readers bringing this area of interest to my attention. I do pray that as you read this, Father God will continue to give you wisdom and revelation of the incredible beauty, intensity, and faithfulness of His fatherly traits. May the greater knowledge of the characteristics of Father God bring a level of healing, fullness, and completeness to your relationship with Him that you never had before, enhancing your life in ways beyond what you’ve imagined!

Table of contents for Characteristics of Father God

1. Characteristics of Father God Part 1
2. Characteristics of Father God Part 2

Reading Level: Impassioned

The characteristics of Father God are deeply moving once one begins to explore them in their full scope.

This post today is in answer to readers’ questions regarding the characteristics or fatherly traits of God. Some of God’s fatherly traits are like those of a good earthly father; others, though similar, go far beyond an earthly father’s abilities. This lengthy list of God’s fatherly attributes as He describes Himself is in no way complete, for the list would probably be endless. Whether you have had mainly negative experiences with your earthly father, which in turn made it difficult for you to interact with God as your Father, or if you had positive paternal experiences as a child, these traits of Father God will be very healing and fulfilling to your mind and spirit.

We are going to explore 10 Fatherly Characteristics of God, 4 in this post (Part 1) and 6 in Part 2.  I trust they will be enlightening and bring healing to your interactions with your Father.

Loving Continually, Abundantly

God says,

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 Jn. 3:1

I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. Jer. 31:3.

Just as a good earthly father, God delights in lavishing His love on us, pouring His love into our lives in generous, plentiful, and even extravagant ways.

As your Heavenly Father, God’s love goes far beyond the capabilities of a human father in that His love is everlasting, never-ending.

Compassionate, Comforting, and Loyal

God says,

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him. Ps. 103:13

The Father of compassion and the God of all comfort…2 Cor. 1:3

For the LORD comforts His people and will have compassion on those who are afflicted. But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget or forsake you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” Is. 49:13-16

Just as a good earthly father feels compassionate toward his children –  even the more challenging ones –  and responds to their needs in compassionate, comforting manners, God says that He will be comforting and compassionate in His responses to His children. God purposely makes a distinction between Himself and earthly parents, admitting that some parents are not good and lack in the normal paternal devotion, and, as a result, abandon their children. God says, referring to a mother as an example (as mothers are typically considered by society to be even more devoted than fathers), that even if our own earthly mother (or likewise, a father) would abandon us, God will never abandon us. His loyalty and devotion cannot end, as sometimes happens with earthly parents.

Nurturing

God says,

The LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place. Deut. 1:31

This is a beautiful visual illustration that God gives us, describing Himself as a father who is literally carrying his son, caring for the son’s every need when he is unable to care for himself. Historically, it refers to God caring for the Israelites every need as He brought them out of 400 years of slavery to a land of their own. But as Scripture tells us that God is no respecter of persons –  doesn’t show favoritism (Acts 10:34) –  and that all the promises of God are “yes” for those who are in Him (in Christ, 2 Cor. 1:20), He cannot show less care for us than what He has shown to someone else. We can rely on His intimate nurturing of us, especially at times when we are unable to care for ourselves.

Warm, Affectionate, Familial

God says,

God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father. Gal. 4:6

In this quote, God is describing how He causes His Spirit that lives within us to enable us to cry out to Him as a father, with the sense of intimate closeness, warmth, affection, and complete trust with which a very small child calls out to his parent. “Abba,” is Aramaic and Arabic for “Daddy.” While researching the term, I discovered that “Abba” is impossible to concisely describe in the English language. Easton’s Bible Dictionary says of the term, “It is a term expressing warm affection and filial confidence. It has no perfect equivalent in our language.” ATS Dictionary describes the term this way, “It expressed the peculiar tenderness, familiarity, and confidence of the love between parent and child.” So we see that God’s Spirit works within us to create, between Father God and us, the same natural bond of affection, trust, warmth, and closeness as exists with small child and its parent. Once we become of aware of this fact, it should enable us to let down our guard and allow God’s Spirit within us to further develop the intimate feelings that are intended to exist between us and Father God.

We’ll cover 6 more Fatherly Characteristics of God in Part 2.