A Place for Your Mind

How do you get through emotional turmoil? The first four verses in the last stanza of Ps. 119 give a pattern. It's one I can relate to, and it's pretty simple. Like everything else in Ps. 119, it's related to God's word. But what about God's word. Understand it and claim it. You'll see what I mean.

Psa 119:169 Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word.	This pictures exactly what to do when I'm upset. Rather than let the offending thoughts and feelings take over, turn my focus to God and ask him for understanding from his word of how to handle whatever it is. Better if I already have a list of go-to verses for such times. When I went through a Woman to Woman Bible study 16+ years ago, I was assigned to come up with a helpful marriage verse for each letter of the alphabet. That has become a go-to list of verses for many an occasion through the years. Very helpful.
(170)  Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word.	Besides praying for understanding of the verses on that go-to list, I can also pray for deliverance according to the promise verses on the list. So when developing or tweaking your own list, make sure some of them are promises. The "P" word can be Perfect. Psa 138:8  The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands. Or, the "P" word can be Perfect Peace. Isa 26:3  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
(171)  My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes.	The result of truly learning (through applying) God's prescribed tasks is praise to God. He gets the glory when I have a victory that comes from focusing on and trusting Him and what He said in his word.
(172)  My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.	And when I have that victory, I want to share it with others, and show them the verses that God used to help me. My tongue shall speak of his word. I know that all of his commandments are righteous. There's nothing else I can trust. God's commandments are the highway. Just stay between the lines and I won't lose my way.