Our emotions are a pretty scary place, and if you’re like me then sometimes you don’t even really know how to fully deal with them sometimes. I was raised to believe that your emotions don’t matter, so just shove them down and keep on trucking. In the words of a Disney princess, “Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know.” And even though I was a senior in high school when Frozen came out (ok, so maybe I am a little old), that was something I had lived by for years. What that led to is this belief that emotions and feelings are bad and that the only option is to stuff it all down, ball it up, act like everything is ok, and just wait for the emotional explosion that is bound to go off at some point.

The real secret isn’t just to pretend we don’t feel, but it’s actually the opposite. Our emotions and feelings are very strong and can often feel like they run our lives, but that’s only true if we let them. The best way to make sure our emotions don’t just run our lives is to actually talk about them and process through them. You’ve probably heard it around before, but our emotions aren’t always rational. A lot of times the feelings we have make sense with the situation we’re in, but the reaction out of them doesn’t always make sense. That’s where the trouble is. So what’s the truth about emotions?

Paul writes in Philippians 4:6-7 that we shouldn’t be anxious about anything and we should take anything and everything to God to ask for help! When we truly do this, God can provide a sense of peace that can only come from Him and Jesus! Paul is telling us that when we have those feelings that feel like they’re going to tear our world apart, we should take them to God and ask Him to help us! This should be our first step when it comes to dealing with those emotions.

Now, not every single emotion from every single day is something we should worry about. We are emotional beings, and we’re going to feel a huge range of different emotions every single day! So how do we know which times are the ones we should worry about? Paul also tells us in Romans that as believers we should rejoice with each other and mourn with each other as well. So when that emotion comes that feels like it’s either not going to go away or is threatening to make you fall apart, take it to your brothers and sisters you trust and talk it through with them! Our emotions can cause us to do something we don’t really want to do sometimes, so seeking wise counsel is always a good idea!

At the end of the day, we shouldn’t try to deny or hide our emotions because they’re part of who we are! The important part is to start learning how to control our reactions from our emotions and not let them control us! God gave us emotions to help us understand each other and to feel closer to Him and the people we care about, not to use them as justifications for hurting or attacking others. Use your emotions to help guide us and to draw closer to God and who He made you to be!

Questions:

1. Do you think that your emotions/feelings are always trustworthy? Why or why not?
2. Why do you think it’s wise to seek out counsel for when our emotions start to feel overwhelming?

Weekly Challenge:

Each day this week, keep an “Emotion Journal.” Write down the date, one strong emotion you felt from the day, and what happened in the moment to make you feel that way!