Jeremiah 31:3Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.”
Have you ever felt disappointed, sad, frustrated, fearful, or angry?
Did you know the Bible teaches that emotions, both positive and negative, are gifts from God?
How dull life would be if we had no feelings. Try to imagine watching a sunset, a ball game, or the ocean with no emotions.
Imagine experiencing trauma and going through difficult times and challenges without having any emotional response. We are made in the image of God, and a part of what that means is that we are emotional creatures. God feels anger, love, hate, and compassion.
The above passage from the book of Jeremiah is just one of many places throughout the Bible where the Lord expresses strong emotions toward his people. Jesus, who was God in the flesh, felt depressed and sorrowful when he was approaching his death on the cross (see Matthew 26:36-46).
He is not dispassionate, and that should not be our ideal either.
All humans experience emotions, but some people don’t share them. Perhaps they were taught as children to hide their feelings. “Big boys are not afraid,” some parents may have said. Even in marriage and intimate relationships, we must learn how to express our emotions, acknowledge them and understand why we are experiencing such emotions but most importantly what we are doing with them. In order words, are our emotions redefining us? Are we lost to it? Have our personality and identity been changed by our emotions? These are the important things we must look out for.
If we fail to share emotions, we inhibit intimacy, and as a result, we create a distance between us.
Sharing positive emotions will enhance the joy. Sharing negative emotions will ease the pain.
Letting your spouse or your family members into the inner world of your emotions will build intimacy in your marriage and relationships.
It is a sure way to be fruitful in life and relationships. Our emotions are God-given and we must learn to submit them to the governing Influence of the Holy Spirit. For when we do so, our emotions become tools of growth and grace to the glory of God.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for your example of emotion. When I read about you weeping over your friend Lazarus’s death, rejoicing over repentant sinners, or sorrowing over your coming death, I am reassured that feelings are a normal and important part of our lives. Please help us as a people to share our emotions so that we may draw nearer to each other.
Shalom,
Apostle Morgan.