Bad emotions can wreck your day, can’t they? In this brief article, you’ll learn
- You are not alone,
- Emotions — including the hard ones — assist in your sanctification.
- 4 steps to emotional wellness
You Are Not Alone
Meet a former counselee I’ll call Linda, who feels like a twisted piece of metal. Among her emotional wreckedness: rebellious teen, overworked husband, tight finances, loneliness, and weariness.
Deep weariness. Sound familiar?
Her teenage son is a Christian but runs with the beer-drinking crowd and stopped attending church. Linda fears he may drive drunk and get in a car crash. Just as bad, her husband is travels for work most of the week. So loneliness darkens her days and nights. In addition, the roof is beginning to leak.
And her emotions have affected her psysically. She sleeps poorly, gets migraines, and feels anxious all day.
I and other biblical counselors — some are listed on Heart2Heart Counselor Directory, by state and specialies — come alongside the hurting every day, listening, giving hope, isolating the problem, determining direction, and helping them implement God-honoring solutions that result in peace and contentment, and most important, God’s glory.
Emotions Help You Grow Spiritually
Emotions tell us something about our hearts. They are neither morally good nor morally bad. Consider Jesus. He expressed emotions and never sinned.
- ANGER: Jesus felt righteous anger while he turned over money-changers’ tables who were making his Father’s house a “den of robbers” (Matthew 21:13).
- SADNESS: He sorrowed over the death of his friend Lazarus. (John 11:35)
- FEAR: He feared the pain of dying on the cross. (Luke 22:42-44)
While Jesus felt a myriad of emotions and did not sin, you and I know that we often have ungodly thoughts (“Jerk, why don’t you learn how to drive?” or “No one loves me”) and act in ungodly ways (yell, pout, slam doors, and so on).
To help you achieve emotional wellness, may I share a four-step plan (adapted from Elyse Fitzpatrick, a leading biblical counselor)? The steps listed below skim the surface. So if you you desire biblical counseling via Skype or in person, please contact us. We can work together on your emotional wellness.
4 Steps to Emotional Self-Care
God wants to free you from the emotions that lead to sin. So here are four steps to emotional wellness.
1. Agree with God that your current way of handling negative emotions is sinful and cease from it. The one who changes your emotions is the Holy Spirit as you cooperate with him.
2. Be convinced that God’s way of becoming emotionally healthy are right and begin practicing them. Again, this is accomplished through relying on the power, strenth, and grace of the Holy Spirit, who cares for you and you enables you to achieve God’s purposes in you.
3. Seek to change the way you think and become conformed to God’s will, especially in the emotions you struggle with. Yes, God is able to change you and heal your emotions. Yes, he wants to.
4. Continue to engage in your new godly thoughts and behaviors even when you fail and need to repent.
Achieving emotional self-care is never easy, and in giving four steps, I do not imply that is is. Becoming emotionally well is contrary to “the natural man.” Indeed, it means saying, “Lord, your will be done” when our easy-to-deceive hearts insist, “My will be done.”
The Good News
The good news is, God enables you to know peace and contentment. And with his help, you can squash fear and fight anger in God’s strength. Yes, you can fall into the arms on God, not the pit of despair. All because of Jesus and his redeeming love shown on the cross.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:3
May I pray for you?
Heavenly Father, this one needs your touch. She needs to know you are real and that you care and love her. You know her struggles. Empower her to have good, godly emotions that glorify you. Amen.
