Emotional maturity is essential in order for us to get along with all kinds of different people and deal effectively with their problems. There are three things we all need in order to be emotionally mature and stable. Like a three-legged stool that tips over if a leg is missing, to have even one leg missing is to be emotionally crippled.

Emotional Maturity requires:

1. A Sense of Belonging. It’s the ‘We’ feeling - having a family to which you belong. The opposite is a horrible feeling of rejection, which leads to all kinds of illegitimate and destructive relationships. Everybody wants to belong. When a person receives Christ, they become “born again” into the Royal Family. When you really understand this, you can never feel alone or rejected again! Ps 68:6 “God sets the solitary in families and brings out those who are bound into prosperity.” Eph 1:6 “He made us accepted in the beloved” This scripture alone has set many people free from rejection.

2. A Sense of Worth. Because of who you are not because of what you do! If children feel like they don't belong, they also feel like they are not valuable. Then they are constantly doing things to let their parents know they are valuable. When your sense of worth is derived primarily from your performance, it puts a lot of pressure on you. But the true value of something is determined by what someone is willing to pay for it. The fact that the Father sent His Son to die for you and me is the final word on our worth! (John 3:16)

3. A Sense of Competence. Peter Daniels wrote a book called, ’Miss Philips You Were Wrong.’ Miss Philips was his schoolteacher. She would grab him by the ears and say, “Peter Daniels you are a bad, bad boy and you will never amount to anything.” Those words turned him into an emotional cripple. At seventeen he still couldn’t read or write, ultimately ending up in jail. But during his time in jail, he watched a Billy Graham crusade on TV and received Christ into his heart. He taught himself how to read and write by studying the Bible. Eventually he went on to become a wealthy land developer, author, and motivational speaker with a Can-Do spirit! When Jesus ascended into heaven, He sent back the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and empower us for life and service. (Acts1:8). This is the source of our competence. Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
   
   Being born again into the Family of God is where we find our sense of belonging, our worth, and our competence. Pastor John Osteen used to begin his weekly services by holding up his Bible and having the congregation repeat after him. “This is my Bible; this is God speaking to me; I am who the Bible says I am; I have what the Bible says I have; and I can do what the Bible says I can do.” Believing this with your heart and confessing it with your mouth will transform you into a world changer and a history maker!

Yours for emotional maturity,

Dr. George Hill
President & Founder
Victory Churches International