A Healthy Emotional Life

The Lord has been dealing with me about our emotions and how they affect our faith and relationship with Him. Being a Christian does not guarantee a pain–free existence. In fact, our faith exposes us to difficulties and struggles that we may not otherwise have experienced.

Lamentations 3:46-56 (New Living Translation)

“All our enemies have spoken out against us. We are filled with fear, for we are trapped, devastated, and ruined.” Tears stream from my
eyes because of the destruction of my people! My tears flow endlessly; they will not stop until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees. My heart
is breaking over the fate of all the women of Jerusalem. My enemies, whom I have never harmed, hunted me down like a bird. They threw me into a pit
and dropped stones on me. The water rose over my head, and I cried out, “This is the end!”

Source of Emotional Responses

What causes us to weep, to cry, to shed tears of sadness? It would do us good to pay attention whenever we find our eyes filling with tears, for those
emotional moments reveal much about what we value and what is important to us.

Our cultural issues today can have an impact on our emotions. The mere mention of a word or phrase can bring up images of a rapidly changing culture. For example: Columbine, road rage, workplace shootings, parental advisory warnings, abortion rights, immigration rights and gay rights. Life events may be positive or negative – healthy or unhealthy – and will affect our emotional lives.

Emotions are strange, feelings come and go. At times, we feel as though we can conquer the world; at other times, we feel as though the world has
conquered us. How can we deal with these surging emotions? How can we maintain our faith in God despite these ups and downs?

God’s people can trust in Him for every part of their lives – even their emotions. A healthy emotional life is essential! God’s Word promises that His children can have peace, joy and a sound mind.

John 14:27 (New King James Version)

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

1 John 1:4 (New King James Version)

And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

2 Timothy 1:7 (New King James Version)

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

The Foundation to Healthy Emotions

The foundation to healthy emotions must have a healthy faith. I say healthy faith because many of us have an unhealthy faith. Meaning that we have more
faith in the world then we do in God and His Word.

Christ paid the price of human redemption. Even after confessing their sins and receiving God’s forgiveness, many believers still have trouble finding peace and joy. Each person is valuable, lovable, forgivable, and changeable in His sight. When we are emotionally healthy, we begin to see ourselves as God sees us.

There is no earthly life without storms. What happens to people in life is not nearly as important as how they choose to react to it. We need to learn to keep a correct perspective, what God’s Word says about that situation, and react appropriately. Some people have a fear of change. To live is to grow, to grow is to change. To resist change in life is to resist growth.

1 Corinthians 6:12 (GOD’S WORD Translation)

Someone may say, “I’m allowed to do anything,” but not everything is helpful. I’m allowed to do anything, but I won’t
allow anything to gain control over my life.

God gave us all things to enjoy, but Satan works tirelessly to take God’s blessings and twist them into evil. The beauty of sex in marriage is
corrupted by the sin in other relationships. The enjoyment of a wide variety of delicious foods is corrupted by gluttony, the addiction of eating too much. The provision of material blessing is corrupted by greed and love of wealth. Paul explained that all things are allowed, meaning that believers are allowed many things as long as they are not forbidden by Scripture.

A certain amount of stress and tension are essential for excitement, motivation, and growth in life. When people have developed their faith, they can
trust God more and worry less.

Sometimes people are limited in their understanding of God. For example, those with an overly strict or dominating earthly father may attach an unnecessary strictness or dominance to God’s character. To see Him only as the God who presided over the flood and the destruction of wickedness in Sodom and Gomorrah is to see only an angry God.

The Bible tells us that at times God is strict and angry but He is also love.

1 John 4:16 (New King James Version)

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him.

We need to see God as the God of love. God is only strict when it comes to rebellion.

When we feel that are emotions are taking over, we could be internalizing the pain of the past or present situations.

Luke 4:18 (New King James Version)

The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; to set at
liberty those who are oppressed.

Through the Word of God and prayer we can begin to have healthy emotions and develop healthy faith. We need to talk to our heavenly Father with honesty about what hurts us. Allow yourself to express your feelings that are associated with your hurts or frustrations. And allow God to heal your emotional wounds. By doing this you can develop healthy faith in God.

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3. Hellen Ramirez says:

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