Emotions are also sometimes referred to as our feelings, as children, we may have often used the phrase, “You hurt my feelings.”
Do you allow your emotions to rule you?
Let’s name some emotions.
Positive Emotions: Joy, happiness, delight, affection
Negative Emotions: Fear, sadness, anger, disappointment, guilt, anxiety
I recently read an article that said, “Emotions are gages, not guides.” – Jon Bloom
Sometimes we get advice from well-meaning individuals that say, “Follow your heart.” or “Do what feels right to you!” We hear this in love songs and children’s movies, but that is NOT the directions that God gives us when it comes to heart and emotions. He says in Proverbs 28:26 “The heart is deceitful above all things.”
One of my favorite authors Elisabeth Elliot put it this way, “The difficulty is to keep a tight rein on our emotions. They may remain, but it is not they who are to rule the action. They have no authority. A life lived in God is not lived on the plane of feelings, but of will.”
What Does God Tell Us to Do About Our Emotions?
God does not tell us to trust our feelings, or to follow our feelings, instead God gave us free will, but he also called us to surrender our lives to him. Ultimately, He is our authority and should be our guide. He gave us the Bible as a roadmap. I’ve heard the term Bible used in an acrostic: Basic instruction before leaving earth.
I know that this can be difficult, as women we are emotional beings. But when we build our lives upon our emotions they can change with the wind, however, if we build our lives upon God’s word, which is unchanging our feet are set firm.
As humans, our feelings are often self-focused, which is why they may change. But as God’s word says his truth is unchanging and He cannot lie. We find this in Titus 1:2 which says, “This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God–who does not lie–promised them before the world began.”
Are You Ruled by Your Emotions? Share on XI recently read this quote, “When we try to edit truth to mesh with our own emotions or preferences, we are placing our opinions and thoughts higher than God’s.” – Leslie Ludy
In our world, putting God’s truth above our emotions can be difficult, when everyone around us is constantly screaming “follow your heart”.
In fact, as scripture tells us following God is easier when we are led by his Spirit rather than by our emotions.
“This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16
This requires for us to stay close to God in order to be able to discern what God would have us to do in those situations where our emotions seem to be taking over our situation.
LinkUps This Post is Linked To: #RaRaLinkup , #TestimonyTuesday, #CoffeeForYourHeart, #SaltandLight, #HeartEncouragment, #livefree, #DancewithJesus, #GraceandTruth, & #ChasingCommunity
Beautiful reminder Alyssa. Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed the quote by Jon Bloom, “Emotions are gages, not guides.” Great thought for reflection!
Great word, Alyssa. It is often difficult to put God’s Word above emotions. Because it’s just so much easier to go with all those spiraling feelings inside us than to cling to the truth of Scripture. And that’s what the enemy wants us to do. But when we learn to rely more on truth than on feeling, the peace and hope of Christ springs up in our souls.
There seems to be two extremes these days. Most are ruled by their emotions and base their determination of truth based on how good it makes them feel. On the other hand, there are those who seem to suggest that all emotions are evil. Emotions are given to us by God just as food has been. It can be great but when we let it rule us, it leads to illness and disease.
That is very true. Many people live by what is called secular humanism. The idea that what’s right for you may not be right for me. In their minds, there is no absolute truth, which we as Christians know there is absolutely an absolute truth. Jesus Christ is the way, the TRUTH, and the light!
I have the tendency to allow my emotions to rule me. From that I have learned my emotions are constantly changing and are not the best gauge or measuring stick to live or make decisions by. And yes putting God’s truth above our emotions are not easy but very necessary in living a God-focused life.
I have the same tendency Lureta. I definitely know this from experience.
“Our feelings are often self-focused, which is why they may change.” This was a light bulb moment for me – but makes a lot of sense. God is the only Unchangeable 🙂
Amen Emily so true!
Hi Alyssa! I like that say that God gave us emotions to draw us back to Him. Excellent post and such truth!
Thank you much Neca!
Alyssa, thanks for your wonderful post. Often, we let our emotions direct our actions. I think this is one of the roots of being easily offended and the inability to reason with each other. We allow emotions to get in the way.
I have chosen your post as my feature this week. Thanks for linking up with Grace and Truth.
I agree it is so important not to let our emotions/feelings rule us. Something I say quite often around here is, “Feelings are not facts.” When we act on feelings as though they are facts we usually run into difficulties. Great post.
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