What do you usually do when you feel bad? I know what I do--I take some medicine or I try to find some diversion until I start to feel better. I do something else to keep from feeling my pain, my despair, my sadness, or whatever it is--I get busy. My counselor calls these band-aids "maladaptive coping mechanisms".
But God says, "Feel your pain". To get right down to it, The phrase, "Be miserable", in the text literally means, "Feel your hardship". God wants us to feel it--and to express it--to openly mourn and to weep out-loud. I've spent most of my life not feeling feelings. They just weren't safe. I learned as a little boy that it was easier just not to feel than it was to feel bad. Of course, if I don't feel--then I can't feel good or bad. I'm dead inside. Through much counseling, through much Spirit-led soul-searching, and by working through the 12-steps of Celebrate Recovery, I have seen my feelings restored. I cry a lot now--after all, I've got years to make up for. There are no "bad" feelings and there are no "good" feelings. There are just feelings--and they are all beneficial. I don't have to fake laughter. I don't have to fake joy. I can feel...and I can live...and so can you.
Today, try to become aware of your feelings throughout the day (good, bad, and otherwise). Feel them and express them to those you trust. Don't fake it! Rather, experience God through it.
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