Emotions~

I came across this quote by Jonathan Edwards in Treatise on Religious Affections. "It is vain to contend with anything that hath the power of our affections at its disposal; it will prevail at the last." He is right. When you feel something strongly, you are very confident in whatever that emotion says about you, other people and God.

Try disagreeing with any strong emotion that you have and see how long you can last.

~ Try telling anger that it might be wrong.
~ Try telling fear that there will be grace for tomorrow.
~ Try telling guilt that there is forgiveness in Christ, which means that God does not see us according to our sins. Yes, you know the words, but when guilt is loud the words are silent.
~ Try telling shame that Christ, through faith, accepts, washes and makes us holy.
~ Try telling mania that its choices might have horrible consequences.
~ Try telling depression.....anything good.

Anger is the obvious example. Right or wrong, anger is always, always confident. No shades of gray. No ambivalence. Anger is very sure of itself.

Depression? You might disagree with this one. After all, depression is infused with self-doubt. Depressed people feel like failures and failures are not very confident. But is there any interpretation of reality that is more stubborn than depression? You hear a depressed person speak of the futility of life, and nine times our of ten, Scripture isn't going to jar the person back into thinking God's thoughts. I am not trying to be critical of depressed people with these observations. I am, however, trying to raise some warning flags for all of us. The stronger the emotion, the harder it is to hear the truth, and depression, if anything, is a very strong emotion. Strong emotions have much in common with delusions. Delusions insist on their interpretation despite clear reason, all contrary to evidence or a consensus among friends for a different interpretation.

Think about it.

"Emotions portray what is happening in our hearts. They tell us what we really want.

Emotions speak to our hearts. Sometimes they speak to us. You are frustrated, add a bit of tiredness and you might get anger. The anger tells you that the mess the kids made yesterday, which was merely a nuisance, is now catastrophic. In short, your emotions lied to you. They told you that something was a big deal when it was not.

How do we manage all of this? It can get complicated, but that doesn't mean the answer is complicated. A wise person listens to the Truth and listens to other people. A wise person listens. This is no simple listening, as the book of James reminds us. It is really hearing, which doesn't come naturally.

I am part of a larger body and I need the larger body. I don't have all wisdom and knowledge in myself. When there is a difference of opinion between my feelings and what God says, God's words win. I gladly submit to him. When there is a difference of opinion between my feelings and what many wise friends and counselors have said to me, I submit to the wisdom of the community. We need others around us who are wise and say wise things to our life.

Yes, this sounds good on paper. Right now my emotions are not raging in a particular direction. The good news is that I can practice humility today. I can listen to God......really listen. I can consider the interests of others as more important than my own. That will prepare me for the times when my strong feelings don't tell me the whole story."

(Taken from an article by Ed Welch~Biblical Counselor and author)

Good words for me and you today ~ emotions are real and sometimes they lie to us. May we have the discernment to know the difference, and if not, have wise ones near who do.

Gratefully His, Sherry Lynette