The Purpose of Emotions

God gave us emotions to express our self in words full of feeling and meaning. God also has emotions and expresses them throughout His Word.

There are no bad emotions. The Bible even tells us it is acceptable to feel anger; it simply cautions us not to allow anger to push us into sin (Ephesians 4:26).

Jesus was angry at the abuse of His Father's Temple by the money changers. He allowed the anger to spur His actions, but He did not act in anger. He was determined and purposeful when He cleansed the temple (Matthew 21:12-17).

Human anger is often like a volcano, which scars the earth with lava welts. Human anger also erupts in a flash and leaves behind huge scars in the hearts of the recipients of that anger.

We should use anger as a red flag to alert us that our body or soul is wounded. Then we can express the feelings of woundedness rather than the emotion of anger.

God gave us physical feelings to bring us pleasure and to alert us of pain and any type of sensitivity. Our emotional feelings function in the same way.

They protect us from danger and injury and bring us joy. Our feelings alert us to what is happening in our spirit, body and soul. We can learn to discern and respond to these indicators.

We even have feelings of intuition, which help to keep us out of trouble. If we ignore our feelings, we will end up in trouble physically, mentally and emotionally.

This is why we need to make a searching inventory of our body, soul and spirit on a daily basis. We analyze the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual transactions going on within us.

This enables us to discern our needs and respond to them, to ask for help from our family and friends, and to seek God's will for us each moment of our day.

Prayer:

Father God, help us not to disguise or suppress our feelings, or to condemn our self for them. Remind us to use them as You intended: to protect us, to help us to enjoy life and to build more intimate relationships with You and with one another.

Teach us not to abuse our feelings by lashing out at others or by allowing our negative feelings to cripple us with bitterness or unforgiveness. Instead, we can acknowledge to You and to others how we honestly feel and what we need done to feel better.

Thought for the Day:

People who cannot honestly but kindly express their mental, physical and emotional feelings, or who are too afraid to even acknowledge their feelings, are the real fatalities in this world.

Hearing from God

 

Satan hates authentic Born Again Believers, because we spend each moment of our day listening to God’s Spirit and obeying His promptings.

The devil's only recourse is to plant doubts in our mind about whether or not the thought in our mind is from God. We analyze the leading and often decide it is only our human thought.

Then, we end up in confusion and even regret, because we missed a great opportunity designed just for us by our loving Heavenly Father. We can quickly repent and then hear from God for our next moment.

When the thought is from God, His Holy Spirit who abides in us gives us His peace deep within our spirit. If there is any doubt or unrest in our spirit, we stop and wait on God to clarify His will for the moment.

The Spirit and the Word never disagree. If the thought in our mind is not confirmed by the Bible, then it is not of God. Satan will attempt to twist scriptures or make us distrust God’s Word.

As children of God, we do not live in fear or confusion, but in love - with spiritual power and a stable mind (Romans 8:4; 2 Timothy 1:7). Walking in God’s Will keeps us from having the anxiety and stress of a hectic pace.

God’s presence within us assures us of His will. His omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence guide us throughout our life, so that we can honor God in our thoughts, words and actions (Proverbs 1:7).

Prayer:

Father God, we dwell in You as our sanctuary (Isaiah 8:13-14). You are our comfort and delight. We look forward to serving You each day and enjoying Your presence now and in eternity.

You give us wisdom and direction each moment of our day, so that we can abide in Your presence. You strengthen us, help us and lift us up by Your mighty right hand (Isaiah 41:10).

Thought for the Day:

Living in the Spirit is a life of security, peace and fulfillment.

Internal Investigation

Most people fly through life without any consideration of what is affecting their body, thoughts and feelings. One way to change this negligent behavior is to pay closer attention to them. If we write down the thoughts occupying our mind, the pains in our body and any negative emotions we experience, they reveal secrets to us.

How does your body feel? What is your soul experiencing? What is your spiritual temperature, hot or cold or...lukewarm? (Revelation 3:16) Performing a thorough internal investigation of our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual state permits us to pray about what to do about them.

Negative emotions are always a signal that something deeper is the culprit. Our physical health even affects our thoughts and emotions, and vice versa. When we analyze the conversations going on in our head among our various ego states, then we can decide what is bothering us and hear the Holy Spirit's direction on what to do to resolve the problems.

We have the choice to play the role of victim and to concede to our spiritual, physical or emotional ailments; to fight how we feel; to ignore the red flags raised in our soul; or to follow the advice of the Serenity Prayer and change or surrender to God the issues distressing us.

There is no way to change another person's mind or actions without his or her consent; so, prayer and God's Word allow us to gain God's wisdom and perspective on our concerns. This is the only way to survive in this world. If God does not show us how to change our circumstances, then we ask Him to help us; and He always does.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that as we put our cares in Your capable hands, that You will deal with them or show us what to do about them, because You truly care about us (1 Peter 5:7). You give us Your joy as our strength, even in the most negative of circumstances. Some issues are our responsibility, and some are beyond our control. We praise You for, in and through every aspect of our life. Thank You for showering us with Your serenity and joy, and for working out everything for our good (Romans 8:28).

Thought for the Day:

Changing our focus about our issues will bring us unimaginable and glorious freedom from our circumstances, even if they never change; as well as joy in spite of them.