This week is spring break in the state of Texas. It also happens to be my birthday this week. On Wednesday my family and I went to a movie. As we were watching the previews for the upcoming movies, a preview for the new Inside Out movie came on. 

The First Movie

Just in case you have never seen the first Inside Out movie, let me tell you what it is about. This movie explores how feelings affect a person. You are introduced to fear, disgust, sadness, anger, and joy, which are all personified emotions the little girl named Riley feels over the course of her life. At the beginning of the movie the character named Joy believed that Riley should only ever feel happy, and any negative feelings such as sadness is all bad all the time. However, by the end of the movie Joy realizes that sadness is an ok feeling to feel too. She sees the benefit of Riley feeling sad because she had to move to another state and leave her friends. It was a cute movie, and if it wasn’t owned by Disney I would recommend you see it. 

On To The Second One

So now Riley is a teenager, and with this new season of life comes new feelings. In the preview for the second Inside Out movie we are introduced to embarrassment, anxiety, envy, and boredom. As these new characters/feelings were being introduced to us Brett leaned over and said, “They are introducing demons as a normal part of life.” And he’s right. Envy and Anxiety and even Fear are demonic. These are feelings we don’t just have to roll over and allow control over our lives. As children of God, these feelings have no right to control us. They have no right, that is, unless we give them permission to be there and be in control. 

Are These Really Feelings

Let’s take a look at what the Bible has to say about fear, anxiety, and envy. 

Fear

We are going to start with fear and anxiety as they are close cousins to each other. One of my all time favorite verses is found in 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV), ”For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.“ (emphasis added) Fear is a spirit, and this spirit does not come from God. It comes straight from the pit of Hell. God’s spirit gives us power, love, and a sound mind. This means that by the power Jesus gives us, we can tell the spirit of fear to leave us alone and it must obey. 

Anxiety

Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV) tells us, ”Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.“ This is one of many verses talking about not being anxious, but instead trusting in God. When we allow the spirit of anxiousness to control us, we are actually saying, “I don’t trust that God will meet my needs. He may not really be trustworthy.” While you may not say those things out loud, your actions are. We can rest in the promise found in Psalm 34:4 (NKJV),”I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.“ Choose to trust God to provide everything you will ever need, and separate yourself from fear and anxiety. 

Envy

Lasly, we are going to talk about envy. James 3:16 (NJKV) tells us, ”For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.“ I don’t know about you, but I certainly do not want to live in a world where confusion and evil is. Therefore, I also do not want to partner with the spirit of envy. We should rejoice with those who are rejoicing just like Romans 12:15 (NJKV) tells us to do, ”Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.“ We want to serve others, and not only ourselves. This is where the spirit of envy can not mature and grow. Because if we allow envy to grow and mature inside of us we will end up like the guy Proverbs 14:30 (NJKV) describes, ”A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones.“

Stand On The Word Of God

So the next time you go see a movie at the theater and the preview for Inside Out 2 comes on, think about what the Bible has to say about these so-called feelings. Let’s not normalize demons in our lives or our kids’ lives. Let’s stand on the truth of the Word of God and allow him to have control.