There are varying degrees of emotion in the human realm.
We are not simply angry, sad, happy or fearful. We could be furious or
irritated, overwhelmed with grief or unhappy, overjoyed or tickled, horrified
or wary or any degree in between.
The fact is that positive emotions give birth to other
positive emotions and negative emotions promote more negative feelings. Our
thoughts feed off one another, and our thoughts and emotions influence our
behavior.
Our negative emotions can affect our body's health as
well, with psychosomatic illnesses. These are very real issues with no physical
cause and can influence the longevity of our life.
Yet, when our attitude swings toward the positive, these
same diseases disappear and our health actually improves dramatically. God
gives us negative emotions to warn us of an unresolved conflict in our soul. It
pays to pay attention to and to resolve these issues quickly.
Emotion is not influenced much by economic standing,
relational status or our collection of material possessions. We can be happier
as a poor person than a rich one, single rather than married, or in a one
bedroom cottage instead of a mansion.
One person with horrendous life circumstances can be
happier than someone who enjoys perfect health and material prosperity.
Genetics even play a part in our overall satisfaction with life.
Melancholy personalities have a hard time seeing anything
except through the filter of their negative persona; yet phlegmatic people will
often view even the worse of circumstances with a positive outlook.
We tend to avoid people who are determined to see life
negatively. Their favorite topics of conversation are their poor health and how
unfair life is to them. They shoot holes in our hopes and dreams and bring us
down to their level.
The presence of God's Spirit in our spirit is the biggest
controller of our emotions; however, we also have the power to choose what our
mind dwells on and what we allow to influence our life.
Prayer:
Father God, remind us that negative attitudes and
feelings will prevent us from walking in Your Spirit (Galatians 5:15-25). They
often deny us the opportunity to achieve Your preordained will for our life
(Ephesians 2:10). We want to walk in Your ways and avoid the pitfalls caused by
prolonged negative emotions
Help us to develop positive habits that will breed
contentment and serenity. Cause us to take frequent moral, emotional and
physical inventories in order to have the opportunity to bring any issues to
You for resolution. Thank You for abiding in us and with us and for not
forsaking us on this earth.
Thought for the Day:
As we face the sun (and the Son), we see a bright future
and the only shadows in our life end up being behind us; people will remember
us more for our attitude about life than for what we actually say and do.
