FROM THE HEART OF DR. REXELLA VAN IMPE

How to deal with negatives

So many people seem to be constantly battling their negative feelings, or relying too heavily upon them. Everyone likes to feel good, and no one enjoys being depressed or tension ridden. While some people spend their entire lives in search of the ultimate emotional high, others seem to revel in feeling low.

Regardless of what kind of person you are, your feelings and how you respond to them play a major role in determining how much you can experience and enjoy satisfaction, or how susceptible you are to feeling baffled, bewildered, or befuddled by the negatives in life.

As we have already learned, being satisfied is not the same thing as being happy. Happiness is our emotional response to what happens to us and around us. Conversely, a truly fulfilled person remains stable in grief, under pressure, and during other times of negative emotional expression. Genuine satisfaction, then, is not an emotion, and it is not dependent upon a positive emotional response to a given situation.

Nevertheless, negative emotions, if dealt with improperly, can destroy our sense of well being and joy. If we see our trials as coming from God in order to bring us to maturity, for example, we can be composed even in the midst of deep tribulation. But if we resist trials and allow them to make us bitter, we destroy the possibility of beneficial gain. This is true for every kind of negative emotion and feeling.

Bitterness, resentment, and an unforgiving spirit

Quite often negative feelings are an indication that there is something wrong in our lives. A personal failure, a broken promise, or something someone said has hurt us or undermined our sense of self-confidence. As a result, we begin brooding over the situation and harboring critical thoughts. Then, before we realize it, we find ourselves on the threshold of bitterness and resentment, baffled and bewildered.

One of the most negative attitudes we can experience is an unforgiving spirit. Nothing is more damaging to a person’s spiritual and emotional well being. Yet, often we find it so difficult to forgive.

Following a city-wide meeting several years ago, a young woman came to me in tears. “Oh, Rexella,” she cried, “I can’t forgive him, but after your husband’s message tonight I can at least say that I’m on the road to forgiveness and I no longer hate him.” She then related to me one of the saddest stories I have ever heard.

As a young child, this woman had been left alone and put up for adoption. After many years of struggling to organize her life into one that had meaning and purpose, she was adopted by a Christian family. As a teenager, she had accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior. Later, she married a fine Christian man and God blessed them with three beautiful children. Her life was full and complete.

The couple enjoyed the friendship of many Christians in their local church. One young man was especially friendly to them, and they frequently invited him into their home for fellowship. They appreciated his testimony and apparently consistent lifestyle.

But one afternoon the young mother returned home to find her 10-year-old daughter in tears. The young man they had loved and trusted had come by for a visit and sexually assaulted their child!

Although that horror had occurred two years in the past, the trauma of the experience was still very real in the life of this mother. She wept as she told me how she had harbored hatred and bitterness against the man who had violated her daughter. Now, because of it, her life was in chaos.

I could hardly keep back my own tears as I listened. I shared this mother’s anger over what had happened to her young daughter. Together we wept over the child, the crime, and the whole situation. The words choked in my throat as I tried to help her find the strength to forgive this man for his evil deed. God had already given her the grace to stop hating him, and now He could give her the grace to forgive him. I assured her that God shared her hatred for the evil done to her daughter, for Scripture assures us that He cares for children in a special way (see Matthew 18:6). I also showed her from the Bible that we cannot believe everyone who says He knows Christ. Finally, I emphasized that she must forgive this man for his sin against her family, just as God had forgiven her when as a teenager she accepted His forgiveness for her sins.

We prayed, read the Word, talked, and prayed some more. At the end of our time together, the woman was radiant-at peace with the Lord and at peace with herself. She had forgiven that man, but she was the one who benefited most from the act of forgiveness.

Most of us will never know from what depths of God’s resources this woman had to draw in order to forgive. The crime committed against her daughter was unspeakable, and she had carried that memory inside her for two years. But the bitterness that grew inside her because she would not forgive had begun to destroy her, and she could not be happy until she was released from the bondage of an unforgiving spirit.

That incident left an indelible mark on my memory, for it brought clearly into focus the truth that forgiveness is always costly. The awfulness of the sin committed against that woman and her daughter is appalling. I cannot get away from a sense of disgust and righteous indignation over a man’s assaulting a young girl. And yet the mother brought to herself harm physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually by refusing to forgive.

On one occasion in the life of the Lord Jesus, Peter came to Him and asked, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? [Jesus answered,] I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven (Matthew 18: 21,22).

The Savior was saying that there can be no limit to the number of times or the depth of forgiveness with which we are to forgive. None of us has a right to withhold forgiveness from another. We are not left with an option of whether to forgive. Jesus went on to emphasize this truth in a parable, telling of a man who had been forgiven of a massive debt but was unwilling to write off a debt of a few dollars someone owed to him. The foolishness of that man’s stubbornness shows just why we must forgive-because God has forgiven us of so much.

Forgiving a person for a wrong committed against us is costly. It may cost us our pride, it may cost us money, or it may cost us in terms of violated rights. But God’s forgiveness to us cost even more-it cost His Son. Jesus died to pay the price for our forgiveness, and in that dreadful moment that surpassed time and eternity as He hung on the cross bearing our sin, God the Father had to forsake His only begotten Son. It was an incredible price to pay to forgive undeserving sinners.

Forgiving and forgetting

Sincere, effective forgiveness also includes another important element-forgetting. In her book, It Feels Good to Forgive, my friend Helen Hosier has penned an irreversible truth: “Regardless of how many times you may say to someone who has wronged you, ‘I forgive you,’ if you have not forgotten then you have failed in forgiveness. If you find it necessary to remind the individual of his or her betrayal, unfaithfulness, or untrustworthiness, then you have not truly forgiven the other person.”

Forgiving and forgetting is truly God’s way, for this is exactly what He does for us when we come to Him through Christ. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more (Hebrews 10:16-17). If God can forgive and forget our terrible iniquities which sent His Son to the cross, surely we cannot do less. In fact, He will give us the power to accomplish this task, for we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

Many times our bitterness and resentment become so imbedded within us that we actually extend our anger beyond the person or situation that has hurt us and begin blaming God. Even Christians are prone to ask, “God, where were You? Why did You let it happen? I thought You loved me. What about your promise of guidance and protection in Psalm 121?”

Erwin W. Lutzer, who retired in 2016 as the senior pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, has a most enlightening answer for such inquiries. In his book, Living With Your Passions, he states: “God’s love does not prevent us from the tragedies of sexual abuse or any other kind of mistreatment. Christ was God’s ‘beloved Son,’ yet the Father didn’t shield Him from the torture of the crucifixion. That crime, despite its horror, has become for us a fountain of blessing. The horror of Good Friday must be understood in the light of the joy of Easter Sunday. God can do the same with the ugly hurts of life.”

Dr. Lutzer then admonishes his readers to confess their bitterness toward God. “Concentrate on His infinite grace and be forgiven and accepted,” he says. Only in this way will you be able to experience the deep spiritual release and sense of relief which are the beginning of true satisfaction.

How to have right attitudes

Perhaps you are struggling with bitterness or an unforgiving spirit and wonder how you can ever come to the point of confession, forgiveness, and be set free. Let me share with you the secret to removing wrong attitudes and negative feelings. It is the power of the Word of God.

Hebrews 4:12 says, For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. In other words, when you let Scripture fill your heart, it transforms what is in there. It seeks out wrong attitudes, exposes them, and then makes them right.

The best way to let Scripture do that is to get to know it better. Read it every day, memorize it, and meditate on it. James 1:21 speaks of the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. When Scripture gets into your life and becomes a living part of you, it has an incredible transforming power.

Peter wrote something very similar. Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby (1 Peter 2:1,2). Again, Scripture is the antidote to wrong attitudes.

I am convinced that one of the reasons my husband has been so blessed of God in the ministry is that early in life he committed himself to memorizing Scripture. Now he knows thousands of Bible verses by memory and is called “the walking Bible.” I am often asked what it is like to live with a man who has memorized so much Scripture. My answer is, “It is wonderful.” God’s Word is constantly working in Jack’s heart to guide him, mold him, shape his attitudes, and direct his life.

All this victory is the result of Jack’s tremendous desire, determination, and discipline-and it is an ongoing process. He continues to add to his storehouse of memory verses each month. The most wonderful, miraculous thing about Scripture is that the more we appropriate it, the greater our appetite for it becomes.

Through the years, God’s Word has changed Jack’s personality from that of a teenaged practical joker to the mature man he is today. He still has his sense of humor and enjoys a good time, but he also exhibits a seasoned wisdom that comes only from an intimate knowledge of God’s Word. My life has been immeasurably enriched by living with this godly man for whom the Bible is his meat and drink. Jack has not only memorized the Word, but he also puts it into practice daily.

This is the essential element in building right attitudes-a willing and submissive obedience to the teaching of God’s Word. James says we should be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving our own selves (James 1:22). Knowing the Bible intellectually without practicing it experientially can actually harden us to its truth!

God’s ideal for you is a life of victory over negativity. He wants you to cut out all roots of bitterness, regardless of how painful the cutting process may be. He also wants you to receive the engrafted Word, which is able to transform your soul. This where we begin to reach the pinnacle of satisfaction.

A CLASSIC MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE

The Three-Way Struggle

In Palestine a three-way struggle continued between Jews, Arabs, and the British, with the Jews holding tenaciously to each hard-earned village and settlement. The attitude of the massive Arab and British forces about them must have created a situation reminiscent of an earlier return of Jews to their land, when their enemies said: “What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?” (Nehemiah 4:2).

Now as then the Jews continued to develop their land in spite of dangers, and to protect themselves as had their forefathers under Nehemiah, who had written:

And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me (Nehemiah 4:16-18).

U. N. Intervention

The continual struggle in Palestine was finally too much for the British. They were tired of the terrorism, the sabotage, the continual conflict between the Arabs and the Jews, and the expense. On April 2, 1947, Great Britain turned the fate of Palestine over to the United Nations. It was an historic action that would ultimately bring about the establishment of the State of Israel.

On November 29, 1947, after careful investigation, the United Nations voted to partition Palestine, giving independence to the Jews. The partition gave the Jews only about one-fourth of the amount of territory they originally intended for their homeland. It was only ten miles wide at its middle and vulnerable to attack on nearly every side. But to the Jews, the decision for partition meant independence, and they hailed the United Nations’ action with joy. At last they would have a home of their own.

Birth of a Nation

The date for statehood was finally set for May 15, 1948. As the occasion approached, Jewish excitement over independence was tempered by the threat of war with the Arabs. Being seriously undermanned and under gunned, they simply were not ready for war. Arms had been brought from Europe, but the British would not allow them to be used until after the mandate had ended. Arab leaders were promising a war of extermination. Having traveled the long trail from Hitler’s camps to their homeland, it now appeared that another Nazi-like experience awaited the Jews. But regardless of the danger, the Jews proceeded with preparations for the birth of their nation.

At eight in the morning on May 14, the British lowered the Union Jack in Jerusalem. By mid-afternoon there was a full-scale war on throughout the country between the Arabs and the Jews.

At 4:00 P.M. that day, David Ben-Gurion read the Declaration of Independence of Israel and it was broadcast from the Tel Aviv Museum. He began:

The land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people.

Here their spiritual, religious, and national identity was formed. Here they achieved independence and created a culture of national and universal significance. Here they wrote and gave the Bible to the world.

Exiled from Palestine, the Jewish people remained faithful to it in all the countries of their dispersion, never ceasing to pray and hope for their return and restoration of their national freedom.

Concluding the Declaration, Ben-Gurion said:

In the midst of wanton aggression, we call upon the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to return to the ways of peace and play their part in the development of the State with full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its bodies and institutions — provisional or permanent.

We offer peace and unity to all the neighboring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all.

Our call goes out to the Jewish people all over the world to rally to our side in the task of immigration and development and to stand by us in the great struggle for the fulfillment of the dream of generations — the redemption of Israel.

The United States was the first country to recognize the State of Israel, with President Truman’s statement of recognition coming at 6:10 P.M. on May 14.

On that day, the following editorial appeared in the New York Times:

This is the last day of British rule in Palestine. At midnight (6:00 this afternoon our time), Great Britain surrenders the mandate which she received from the League of Nations twenty-five years ago. The zero hour, awaited with hope and anxiety by the bitterly divided population, marks a fateful change in the status and government of a small country that has presented the United Nations with its hardest test to date and weighs more heavily than any other on the heart and conscience of the world.

Palestine will now be an independent entity for the first time in centuries

The long-awaited statehood had arrived. Israel was born.

The War of Independence

On May 15, from Tel Aviv at 5:25 in the morning, Ben-Gurion was broadcasting Israel’s thanks to the United States for prompt recognition of their statehood. A loud explosion interrupted his speech. After a pause, he said, “A bomb has just fallen on this city from enemy aircraft flying overhead.” The War of Independence had begun.

To call it the “War of Independence” seems a contradiction. Most nations trace their histories to a war of independence after which statehood was won. In Israel’s case, the long struggle for statehood was capped by a war of independence. Although there had been sporadic fighting throughout the country in the months preceding the end of the British mandate, the actual war began on the birthday of the nation. Although travail usually accompanies birth, in this historic situation travail and trouble continued after birth had taken place.

The War of Independence was bloody and desperate. Had the Arabs known how poorly the Jews were armed they might have pressed their advantage and quickly won the war. The Arabs had been able to purchase weapons on the open market because they were recognized nations. Europe was then a giant weapons market, a sort of postwar rummage sale, but the Jews had been hindered in purchasing arms because of their political status. They had been able to secure some World War II arms, but at the beginning of the war they had only four large howitzers of the type used by the French army in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870.

In one battle with forty-five Syrian tanks, only two of the ancient howitzers were available, having been hurriedly moved from Haifa to be used in the defense of the oldest kibbutz in Palestine. Colonel Moshe Dayan, the local commander, ordered his men to fire at the most advanced Syrian tank. The Israelis scored a direct hit, causing the column to turn around and retreat. They never returned. Had the Syrians known they had been fired upon with one of the only two weapons on hand at the time, they would have undoubtedly used their strength and firepower to win the battle.

The Arab League nations that opposed Israel were Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and Trans Jordan. They formed a formidable alliance against less than a million poorly armed Jews. Many of the Arabs fought well and Jewish casualties were high. Six thousand Israelis were killed during the eight months of war. Had American losses been that high proportionately during World War II, they would have reached two million, which is more than the number killed in both world wars.

We will continue our study on the birth of Israel in our next newsletter.

CHANGED LIVES-one at a time

Dearest Dr Rexella Van Impe,

Just want to tell you from my heart how strong of a woman you are. Carrying on the message your husband professed. You are doing a fantastic job!

Oh Rexella, how you must miss your husband. But we find comfort in our savior and knowing his imminent return will join you back with your husband. And all the kitties will be there oh how I look forward to seeing what the Lord has prepared for us.

Things in the air just feel off the lawlessness abounds.

Indeed, the truth needs to be told and we fear not for our savior has provided our Eternal home for us. Can’t wait to meet both of you in heaven.

Best regards to you.

Barbara E.

Hi Rexella,

I absolutely enjoy your newsletters and am grateful that you are continuing Jack’s Ministry.  I pray for you daily and am so proud of you for doing such a fantastic job for the Lord.  Thank you for the newsletter that you send out as I enjoy reading it.  I loved Jack and yourself so very much, and you both taught me so much about the Lord’s word.  You’ve helped me understand scriptures on prophesy and my eyes are wide open, have been for many years since I started watching Jack Van Impe’s weekly program.  I am grateful the Lord led me to you both.  Take care of yourself and God Bless Rexella.

Sincerely,

Tomella C.

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