Emotions and Christianity

I was reading an article on the magazine “In Touch” the other day. They will have to forgive me because I don’t remember the specific author or the edition of the magazine that I read. The article was talking about how as believers we tend to have unrealistic expectations of what our emotions should be in determined situations. I think the saddest part about it, is that we permeate this culture of unrealistic expectations when we attempt to provide support to someone in distress.

I’m guilty of telling someone one that they are not trusting God on a situation, because they are exhibiting anxiety or distress and I know I’m wrong for that. I also know that I’ve accused myself of not being submitted enough to God for experiencing things like: fear, anger, sadness, anxiety.

There’s this wrong perception that if you’re a believer everything in your life has to be going absolutely perfect. We forget to read that part of the Bible that says, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). Who can forget the scene where Jesus kicked everyone out of the temple? He was angry. The Word says, “be angry but do not sin”…it doesn’t say you’re not allowed to be angry.

Where do we even get these ideas that because we believe we’re going to be walking in clouds, our children will be perfect, and our relationships will be perfect? Yes, we have deceived ourselves.

The interesting thing that we missed, that was addressed in the article was that we are made as God’s image; this means every emotion that we have, he has and made for us. It’s what we do with our emotions that could either edify us or destroy us. If we use our emotions and turn them into prayers, instead of complaints, and remember that the test is only the beginning of the testimony; we would see our life with different eyes.

I had a situation this week, where everything that could go wrong, went wrong. At the end of the day, I was tired, frustrated, overwhelmed. I kept praying God’s peace. I surrounded myself with my accountability support people. I finally came to the conclusion that this was the test becoming a testimony. The testimony is that every single thing that looked impossible on Monday was resolved without my intervention and in ways that only God could have shown himself. The fact that I cried and was frustrated doesn’t mean that I didn’t know that God had it in his hand and was going to deal with it. I didn’t’ doubt it for a minute. I just had a bulk of emotions; I recognized them as such and treated them as such.

Sometimes we lose focus that not only the lost souls struggles, but our fellow believers have struggles too, and how can we be of help when instead of mercy, we hand out judgment.

Be Blessed!

 

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2 thoughts on “Emotions and Christianity

  1. Hi Naty,

    I hope this note finds you well. I’ll make this brief as I know you’re busy. : )

    Are you familiar with Jon Gordon? He’s the Wall Street Journal and Intentional Bestseller of multiple books including The Energy Bus, The No Complaining Rule, SOUP: A Recipe to Nourish Your Team and Culture, and Training Camp: What the Best do Better than Everyone Else. He speaks to top companies and organizations, has a newsletter list of over 60,000, etc. (Just sharing to paint the picture so you know who he is, if you don’t already.)

    I wanted to see if you would be interested in interviewing Jon for your blog, sharing a guest post of his or reviewing his LATEST BOOK, The Seed: Finding Purpose and Happiness in Life and Work. His advice on developing positive individuals, leaders, organizations and teams is spot on and something I think you and others would benefit from.

    Let me know if you are interested. Note: We’re featuring links back to articles, interviews, etc. in Jon’s newsletter as well.

    Thanks!

    Carrie Taaca
    Outreach Coordinator for Higher Level Group

    Selected Books by Jon Gordon:

    The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work and Team with Positive Energy
    The No Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work
    Soup: A Recipe to Nourish Your Team and Culture
    The Seed: Finding Purpose and Happiness in Life and Work

    Guest Post Article Topic Examples:

    *Posts would be customized to fit your blog audience as well.
    5 Ways to be Happier at Work
    The Greatest Customer Service Strategy
    Working for a Bigger Purpose
    The Power of Positive Interactions
    11 Benefits of Being Positive
    The Curse of Experience/Think Like a Rookie
    How to Create a Culture of Greatness
    5 Ways to Think Like a Champion
    The No Complaining Rule
    Turning a Negative into a Positive
    Zoom Focus – How to Get Things Done

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