Let me give you an example.
For many years, when my wife got sick, I got angry. This was not a good thing. Here she was, sick, vulnerable, needing my care, and I was just getting snippy with her. “How long are you gonna be sick?” “Why do you always get sick when I’m busy?” Yada, yada.
Okay, let’s all agree: I was being an absolute jerk.
Trouble is: I knew I was being a jerk. I just didn’t know how to fix it.
Then I started looking at my feelings. (HINT: Your emotions are a huge clue to help you discover what you’re really believing.) I started connecting the dots, and came to this realization. When I was a boy, I didn’t feel safe with my dad. (I’m not saying that was his fault; I’m saying that’s how I felt.) So when my mom was sick, there was no one there to protect me from my dad.
Anyway, I took all of this to Jesus. I shared my faulty beliefs with Him. I don’t remember now exactly what He said or did to correct them; I just remember this: Next time my wife got sick, I wasn’t angry. She was sick; I cared for her—all part of life.
More next time, and this is a topic I cover in detail in my course, Spiritual Self Defense.
