Negative
emotions are God's gift to us. They alert us that something is wrong in our
life. That way, we can either fix the root cause of the emotion, or take it to
the Lord in prayer for His faithful, nurturing assistance.
Some
people wallow in their negative emotions, or allow them to rule their thoughts,
words and behavior. This is never a good idea, because that is not why God gave
them to us. He allows them to manifest, so that we can see issues in our life
that need our attention.
Negative
emotions will often attempt to imprison us in the despair, bitterness,
depression and anxiety that drive them. Emotional abuse, jealousy, a major loss
or disappointment, etc. try to cripple us and render us useless for the Lord's
service.
Never
make a decision based on negative emotions. Hear from God and follow His
Spirit's direction in making every decision. Inferiority, false accusations,
disillusionment, insecurity, fear, lack of purpose, etc. all host negative
emotions.
Then,
they spiral out of control and consume our thoughts and emotions. Journaling
helps us to trace the emotion back to its original source. This way we can
actually take control away from the negative and make changes in our life to
get back on a positive track (Philippians 4:8).
Waiting
on the Lord, and courageously accepting His ministry to strengthen our heart,
will aid us in our walk through the valley of despair (Psalm 17:14). He helps
us to nourish constructive emotions that provide us with positive energy to
change our circumstances.
Prayer:
Father
God, I have noticed that emotional bankruptcy is too often responsible for the
destruction of a life. Remind us to intentionally examine all of our negative
emotions. As long as we put our trust only in You, there is nothing that
happens to us that is too difficult for You to turn around for our good (Luke
18:27; Romans 8:28).
Help
us to monitor our balance in our thoughts, choices and feelings, and to use
only constructive means in order to meet our soul's needs. Remind us that our
greatest help in times of trouble is continual communication with You in
prayer, feasting on Your Word, drinking of Your living water, providing
opportunities for our soul's refreshment, and fellowshipping with other
Believers.
Thought
for the Day:
The
gift of emotions is one of our assets from the Lord, and should be handled
wisely in order to harness them, learn from them, grow from them and discipline
our self not to over-react with them; we take into consideration the root cause
of them and work with the Lord to discover His will for us in them.
