Over the church, in the silence that followed this strange scene, sobs and the noise of weeping arose. When had the First Church yielded to such a baptism of tears? What had become of its regular, precise, conventional order of service, undisturbed by any vulgar emotion and unmoved by any foolish excitement? But the people had lately had their deepest convictions touched. They had been living so long on their surface feelings that they had almost forgotten the deeper wells of life. Now that they had broken the surface, the people were convicted of the meaning of their discipleship. – In His Steps
I have recently found myself, having less control of my emotions. The two emotions I have the most trouble controlling are anger and tears. I have also come to realize that tears are not a sign of weakness, and anger is a valid emotion if used correctly.
When I think about my kids and grandkids and see them going through struggles, I cry. I also pray to God and in His mercy, He shows me how He feels about every single one of His children.
When I see people’s lives ruined by alcohol, drugs, violence and other things it makes me angry. Not angry at them, but at what has become of them. Thank God that he also shows me those same people as saved and made whole, when they come to Him. The good news is that God uses all the bad choices we make, for His good purpose when we come to Him. Romans 8:28 (NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
I am a firm believer that you cannot serve God and yourself (the world, money, etc.). You have to choose one or the other. When you choose to serve God, he starts to grow you into the person He meant you to be. This is also a choice to surrender your will. Matthew 6:24 (NIV) No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
So where does the Mind, Will and Emotions come in? Our minds are able to memorize a crazy big number of things per second and that’s with most of us using less than 10% of our brain! So what we fill our minds with is very important. Philippians 4:8 (NIV) Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. The Bible tells us how to think. When we fill our minds with the right thoughts, then we need to act on them through purposeful utilization of our will, and our emotions will follow. The above excerpt from In His Steps shows that it is appropriate to have emotions (God created emotions). When we keep our emotions all bottled up inside we become like robots, just going through the motions, but not feeling anything.
I woke up this morning excited! Not because, I won the lottery or because everything is going my way (we are facing some very difficult struggles right now), but because I’m alive and 2 Timothy 1:12 (NKJV) says, For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
Also, God loves me and His desire is for me to be whole and purposeful and joyful Psalm 28:7 (NIV) The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.
There is so much more I could say about emotions, but I think what is really important to remember, is that when our Mind (thoughts) and Will (the act or process of using or asserting one's choice - dictionary.com) line up with God, our Emotions (joy, sorrow, fear, anger, love, etc.) will follow.
With the greatest emotion being love…
