I’m trying to get this into my head. God really does care about our emotions, which means He cares about mine as well. Do any of you have (or had) one of those fathers who often said, “keep crying and I’ll give you something to cry for”? Yeah…been there. It made me tend to stay in my room and vent my emotions alone thinking fathers weren’t the types to go to about heartache, so buck it up, baby.
God is our “Heavenly Father“, so as humans, our only source of reference for that fact are our human fathers. it’s hard as a human to to grasp that Father God is sinless, pure, unconditional in his love for us though we, as believers in His Son Jesus Christ, we believe it by faith.
I’ve been dealing with negative emotions these past few days myself. I think I’ve been much better but the past two days when I’ve woken up that old, “what’s the point?” thought rose it’s ugly head (dare I say our enemy whispered it in my ear?). It’s a daily struggle for many of us who have grown up being bullied and/or had tough relationships with those we love. It’s a daily struggle for those of us who are dealing with battles in the hear and now.
I visit my mom in the nursing home not far from us on average, every other day (that’s my goal). Her progressing Alzheimer’s disease takes a tole on my sister and my both. It’s so hard to watch her become more and more frail and begin to have that far-off look in her eye. I visit her because do and always have adored my mother. I visit her because I choose to honor her as the Bible commands us to. I visit her because it’s my privelege to do so after all those years of her rearing me and protecting me and getting me to church. I visit her. I don’t like her companion Alzheimer’s, but unless the Lord chooses to miraculously heal her (as He can should He choose to), Alzheimer’s is there and there’s nothing I can do about that. I’m not going to keep it from visiting my mother. But to be honest, there are days I walk out of there feeling challenged to live my life the best I can because that’s how my mother raised me, and there are other days I walk out of there crying my eyes out.
There are days that in addition to that, I find myself missing our old house we lost last summer (almost a year ago) and the people in that little village on the edge of the country we called our neighbors, the women I served the Lord with in my women’s Bible study, and the people we worshiped with in the small town nearby. I start to blame myself, degrade myself for not keeping a better handle on the events and people that affected that loss. And after 13 years of raising the sweetest child on planet earth, I still struggle with autism, it’s effect on our family and the concern I have for his future.
Then the Lord reaches out to me with a devotional like the one I share with you today and reminds me how much He does love me and how much He DOES care about my emotions and wants me to share them (and everything that affects my life!) with Him. See if it doesn’t do the same for you:
No matter what emotional battle you are facing and fighting today, when you tap into the wisdom of the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, you are guaranteed to win whatever battle you encounter. No longer are you a victim of vicious emotional outrage and sludge but you are more than a conqueror because of Christ’s great love for you.
God really does have a plan for your daily life and His plan is one of joy, peace and victory. God desperately needs you to conquer your emotional issues because you are an important part of His grander plan at this historical juncture. If you continue to wallow in the blahs, in anger and in depression, the world will be missing out on the gift that you have been created to be. You must never think that you are just a number to God and can get away with flaunting your disappointment and fear in a disproportionate demonstration. You are not merely one of the mass of humanity, but you are a valuable resource who is able to bring significant change at this historic moment.
Will you purpose to be the best you possible? Or will you be a warped shadow of humanity who deviates emotionally from the plan of God for his or her life? God needs you! He needs you to be a living demonstration of joy and peace when your world is falling apart. He needs you to be a beautiful masterpiece of righteousness and patience in a culture gone wild. God needs men and women in every generation who will declare, “My life is not about me and my feelings. My life is about serving God and revealing His character to my world!”
Will you be remembered for the song of your heart or the screech of your life? We all will leave a legacy that is determined by our daily emotional choices. The emotional and spiritual legacy with which you choose to endow the following generations is more important than the finances, houses or lands that you leave. As you gaze upon the emotional smorgasbord that your culture, your family heritage and your circumstances offer for the substance of your life, never forget that God gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him!
–Holy Emotions: Biblical Responses to Every Challenge