(Eph 4:26) "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath.
Emotions are weird! I mean they are great and all, but they are so fickle and ever changin
g. Praise God for emotions such as love and empathy, happiness and elation. But what about those other ones like anger and depression, anxiety and frustration? And do you watch yourself go in and out of different emotions throughout the day? You go through something frustrating and you get angry. Then a friend calls you and you feel encouraged. Then you face a disappointment and you feel depressed. Then you get a rebate in the mail and you get happy. Wow . . . is that why we are so tired at night?
I guess we should be thankful for our emotions. They make up the spice of life and the passion of living. They are the palate of the soul, letting us know what’s going on in the interior of the heart. We all feel them to differing degrees. You might be a very passionate person with your emotions way up front. Or you might be one of those even-tempered souls that naturally elude the highs and lows of your emotional inventory.
But emotions at times have to be controlled. Paul told his friends in Ephesus that it was okay to be angry but just don’t go the next step and punch somebody’s lights out! Depression is a normal emotion, but we are also told to rejoice even in our sorrow (2 Cor 6:10). Anxiety will be a frequent experience, but we are to cast our care on the Lord and receive His peace (Phil 4:6-7; 1 Pet 5:7).
But what do you do when you can’t seem to get a handle on your emotions? What do you do when they seem to flop all over and leave a mess in their wake? Praise God for Galatians 5:22-23, which says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control...” When you yield to the Holy Spirit, He gives you all these nine wonderful character traits. You might be emotionally ballistic, or you might be emotionally unanimated. But regardless, as a believer, the Holy Spirit lives in you and His qualities and attributes are able to flow through your life as you yield to His Lordship and control.
You might not be the Rock of Gibraltar in your own emotional assessment, but your life is founded on the Rock, Jesus Christ (Mat 7:24-25). He will give you the balance and stability you need for daily living and for doing His will no matter what happens. How wonderful it is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit than to be ruled by our emotions. Keeping in the Word will give us the strength we need as well as remind us that at all times we have the fruit of the Spirit. That way we will be in motion with our emotions instead of being in commotion with them. Now that gets me excited . . . in a good way!
Louie
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