You walk into the room and everything stops! You notice everyone is staring at you, and it’s like time has frozen in an instant. You feel your cheeks get hot, your heart starts racing, you notice your hands are hot and clammy, and you just can’t catch your breath. You wonder to yourself, “Why are they all looking at me like that? What were they talking about that caused a hush to fall in the room the second I walked in? They had to have been talking about me!” and you want to run and hide somewhere where you feel safe! 

Have you ever had something similar happen to you? A moment where you feel extremely uncomfortable and you just want to walk back out of the room and never go back again? I think we can all relate to these emotions that rise up within us when we feel fear. The funny part about it is that the same thing happens to us physically when we encounter a physical fear, such as encountering a bear, as when we encounter an emotional fear, such as embarrassment or failure! Our brain does NOT know the difference between a physical fear and an emotional fear, and our body produces the same physical response to both situations. Friends, this response to your emotions is SUCH A GIFT! 

The God of the Universe created your body in such a way that will send you warning signs when it needs your attention! Think about it… when your body needs nourishment to function properly, what happens? You feel (and hear) hunger pains to get your attention. When your body needs hydration, your throat feels dry and parched. When your body gets overheated, you start sweating! Not only does the sweat get your attention, but your sweat actually starts working to cool your body off! When you feel cold, you start to shiver! God created your body with its own built-in check engine light for your physical needs, but He also created your body to do the same thing for your emotional needs as well! Friends, this is SUCH A GIFT! 

All too often, we feel and sense our emotional check engine light going off, and we tell ourselves that it isn’t a big deal and just push what we’re feeling under the rug. And the more we push all of those feelings under the rug, the harder it is to hide, until they explode one day on those we love most. And the stress those buried emotions put on our body over extended amounts of time cause physical ailments that if not taken care of can lead to ailments and disease (just like the effects that chronic stress has on our body systems). God gave us these “symptoms” to get our attention that inner work is needed, whether physically or emotionally. 

What check engine light have you been ignoring lately? Is it the increasing frustrations with your spouse or kids? Is it the headaches and tightness in your chest? The God who created one hundred billion stars, created YOU in a way so that you can live healed and whole emotionally, spiritually, and physically. He’s giving you so many clues that will lead you to the root cause of your results in life, in your relationships, and in your faith so that you can truly live a life of joy that you love amidst the everyday. And it starts with just becoming more aware of your body’s check engine light!