When you get a text that makes your heart race,
hear news that brings a gush of tears to your eyes,
sense your blood boiling into a massive display of anger,
feel a sense of depressing dread that your entire life will be miserable…

What do you do?

There are two words God is using to remind me of the next step I need to take when life is painful and my emotions are screaming at me in all the wrong ways: Press In.

Here are 3 things I need to press in closer to during emotionally hard times:

Press in closer to God’s character.

The truest thing you can believe about your life right now is that God is good through the very circumstances you are encountering. Yikes, that’s convicting to write.

But it’s so true and right, isn’t it? The bottom-level truth about your life is not that it’s hard and painful (though that may be true). The truest, most unchanging thing about your life at this very moment is that you have a God who is worthy of your trust in every tiny circumstance you encounter today.

During emotional roller coasters, it is vital that you press into the truth of God’s character because your emotions will be screaming at you to believe the things you can see rather than place faith in the unseen, eternal truths.

What is true about God?

He is good and only good.
“No one is good except God alone.” (Mark 10:18)

He deserves your trust. 
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man…Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD.” (Jeremiah 17:5-10)

He is a faithful Father.
“But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)

He is loving.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.” (John 15:9)

He is your ever-present friend.
“There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24)

He promises to lead you.
“For your name’s sake, you lead me and guide me.” (Psalm 31:3)

In order to press into the truth about God, you must go to the source of truth: God’s Word.

Press in closer to God’s Word.

Emotionally charged times are exhausting. And sometimes the idea of sitting down and thinking about God’s Word as it applies to your situation is incredibly painful. But it’s a healing, necessary pain. When I’m overcome with emotion, the very worst thing I can do is to believe all my thoughts. Pressing into God’s Word during these times is necessary because you must regularly encounter truth to confront the lies your heart constantly pumps into your mind.

Maybe you came up with a solution to your problem that seems to be right, but when you evaluate it in light of God’s Word, you realize the error. Applying God’s Word to your heart may feel like a painful re-breaking of an improperly set bone. The correction is painful and seems like the very last thing you want to do. But it’s only when you re-break the crooked part of your heart and set it straight according to God’s Word that true healing can begin.

Press in closer to God’s people, the church.

Many times, the seasons when we most need the body of Christ in our lives is the precise time we pull away from the church.

You’re so overwhelmed, the very last thing you want to do is drag yourself (& your family) out on Sunday morning.

There’s nothing else you can let go from your schedule except church, and you have to have a little alone time or you’ll go absolutely crazy.

Maybe the last thing you want is for others to know how deeply you’re struggling.

These are valid concerns. But as members of the body of Christ, we need each other too much to make a habit of missing church. Find someone in your church who loves God’s Word and ask them to pray with you. If that sort of thing doesn’t happen at your church, maybe you could be the one to start the trend! It’s a beautiful thing to talk with a fellow believer about a struggle and then take time to bring that difficulty before the Lord. You need other believers in your life, and they need you.

Some of the most painful moments of my life have also been the sweetest because they have brought me closer to Jesus. As I come to Jesus in the middle of my pain and confusion, Christ himself draws near and comforts me with his presence. (I love this topic so much that I wrote a book on it.) His Word and promises are real! He truly does give perfect peace when we fix our thoughts on him.

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3).

Whatever season you find yourself in, I pray that God will use these words “Press In” to remind you to draw closer to the truth of his good character, his Word, and his people. He is a good, faithful Shepherd; you can trust him.