I’ve always been an emotional person. I remember when I was in elementary school crying over my math homework and tests because I put too much pressure on myself to get things right. I remember crying on the first day of middle school because I messed up my schedule and accidentally skipped a class. I remember crying in the middle of math class in high school, this time not about my grades but because of a conflict I was having with my friends who were in that very class. And though I don’t want to admit it, I probably cry just as much now as an adult as I did as a kid and teen. But my emotions don’t just lead to tears. They can lead to fits of anger when I don’t know how to control my anxiety. Or they can lead to spouts of sadness because of feelings of guilt or inadequacy.
We all experience emotions in different ways. Maybe, like me, you’ve cried more than a few times in the last week. Or maybe you wouldn’t describe yourself as an emotional person, but you still experience moments in which sadness washes over you or anger bubbles up inside of you. When emotions arise, we can react in a few ways. We might try to push down our emotions and act as if everything is fine. We might try to process our emotions and try to figure out why we are feeling a certain way. Or we might resolve to just let the emotions take over, feeling as if there is nothing we can do to control them.
However you typically respond to emotions, you have the opportunity to bring God into your emotions. Bringing God into your emotions helps keep you from reacting negatively to certain emotions and encourages you to trust God with what you’re feeling and ask Him to give you His peace, help, and comfort. So how exactly do we bring God into our emotions?
Pause and pray
My tendency when it comes to my emotions is to pray after I’ve let emotions take over. But I’ve found that if I pause in the midst of them, I’m able to deal with my emotions better. When I pause and pray when anger arises, I have the opportunity to ask God to control my tongue and keep me from erupting. When sadness moves me to tears, I can share with God what is making me upset and ask Him to give me His comfort. And when anxiety surges, I can ask God to help me calm down and experience His peace. The same is true for you, too. Whenever certain emotions surge, don’t wait to pray. Invite God into what your emotions by sharing your situation with God, telling Him what you’re feeling, and asking Him to meet you in your current need. Your emotions might not go away, but you’ll be better equipped to handle them with God’s help.
Cling to the truth of God’s Word
I have a horrible habit when it comes to my emotions of trying to do what I call “numb out.” If I’m feeling overwhelmed or anxious, I try to shut down what I’m feeling by turning to something mindless. That might feel like a temporary fix at the moment, but it doesn’t actually help me process through what I’m feeling. Rather than choosing to do something mindless, I need to fill my mind with what I know to be true and allow those truths to quiet my emotions. This is why God’s Word is such a gift.
God’s Word meets us in all of our emotions. Scripture gives us truth that we can cling to and choose to dwell on when emotions arise. For example, in the midst of fear, Isaiah 41:10 reminds us that we don’t need to be afraid, because God is with us, strengthening us and helping us. When guilt and shame weigh us down, Romans 8:1 reminds us that there is no condemnation in Christ, so our sins are met with Christ’s forgiveness. And when life’s pains cause tears to flow, we can choose to remember that God is the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3) who is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18), which encourages us to draw close to Him. Being able to bring the truths to mind will require us to spend time in God’s Word regularly. And as we commit ourselves to immersing ourselves in Scripture, we will be able to call to mind and cling to its truth in the midst of our emotions.
Emotions can be weighty, but we have a God who meets us in our emotions. So let’s choose to invite God into what we’re feeling by relying on Him in prayer and clinging to the truth of His Word. The more we choose to go to God in prayer and dwell on Scripture in our emotions, we’ll be able to handle our emotions in a way that honors the Lord and brings us closer to Him.
If you’re looking for more encouragement in your emotions, check out our study Emotions and the Heart or our book of prayers called Draw Near!
