We All Have Emotions.
Emotions—we all experience them. Our emotions, given us by God, are something we can be thankful for. But before we allow any emotion to run its course in our lives, we must first examine what the outcome of that emotion will be. If we think it through and find that the logical outcome of that emotion is something that God would disapprove of, then we must put a stop to it right away.
On the contrary, if an emotion is coming from the Holy Spirit, thereby honoring God, we should allow that emotion to have its way in our life so that it will serve the higher purpose the Lord has intended for it.
Please know that I do not want you to feel I am shaming you for your emotions. Never! My heart is for you, dear woman, and I have no desire nor any basis to judge you. My only goal is to support you and encourage you with the truth of God. That’s my heart’s ambition.
But we need to keep in mind that our emotions now exist in a fallen world. This means that our emotions, though created by God, are now being driven by our sin nature. Therefore, we should base our reactions during difficult circumstances on God’s Truth rather than the emotions we are experiencing in that moment.
Let’s look at five reasons we cannot trust our emotions.
1. Our emotions are tainted by our own sin nature.
We each have particular sin nature that pulls us more easily towards certain types of sins. This natural bent toward particular sins makes our emotions a very unreliable guide for our decisions.
You can learn more about the sin nature in the Peace Secured Study for Christian Women.
2. Our emotions are always changing.
There are many factors that cause our emotions to change moment by moment. Negative core beliefs, past hurts, perceived threats, hurt feelings, unforgiveness, hormones, etc. These wreak havoc on our emotions. How can we make good solid decisions if we base those decisions on our ever-changing emotions? We cannot. We must base them on God’s Truth that never changes.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:8
3. Our emotions make us vulnerable to Satan’s temptations.
When we are being led by our emotions, it’s likely we are not walking in fellowship with the Lord. This becomes very dangerous territory for us because when we are out of fellowship, we are vulnerable to Satan’s lies. When we believe these lies, we operate and react to situations based on our perception, rather than on truth.
There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end, it leads to death.
Proverbs 14:12
4. Satan uses our emotions to fool us into acting outside of faith.
We know Satan loves to use our emotions to fool us when we are trying to make decisions during difficult circumstances. Therefore, we need to proceed with caution. So often we want to take a particular action because it will bring relief from our discomfort or because it’s what feels best. We need to stop and focus on Christ at this point. Do not buy Satan’s lie that we must do what feels best and we must do it now!
The Lord always wants us to take the time to bring it to Him.
Ask yourself, will the outcome of this emotion bring glory to God? Friend, His Word has the answers we need. We must allow His Word to guide us so that we’re not led astray by our own desires and emotions.
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
James 1:13-15
5. Our emotions are not truth.
Our emotions can feel so real that they seem to supersede all logic and reason and actually become our truth. But they are not truth.
Truth is God’s Word, and our responses always need to honor that word.
How do we keep from being controlled and tossed around by our emotions?
We need to be asking God for His guidance daily through His Word. His Word is what helps us to discern our emotions and bring them into His truth. Remember, it is the Holy Spirit’s desire to conform us to the character of Christ.
Take each emotion you feel to Him and ask the Holy Spirit to show you what is truth concerning that emotion.
A Spirit-led woman is one who is able to respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, rather than her own emotions.
But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22- 23
God is an emotional being.
Keep in mind that the fundamental character of the Holy Spirit is emotional:
• The Holy spirit grieves
• The Holy Spirit feels peace
• The Holy Spirit feels joy
• The Holy Spirit yearns
Friend, the Holy Spirit understands emotions. You can trust Him with yours, and you can trust Him to lead yours in a way that is God-honoring.
I realize living a life where we’re not controlled by our emotions may sound like an impossibility to you right now. In fact, one reason I created the Peace Secured Study is so that women would have the tools needed to make this a reality.
Hi there! I’m Renee White!
I’m a Christian Life Coach for women and author and creator of the Peace Secured Study for Christian Women.
I am a sinner, saved by grace, an over-the-top happily married woman, and mom to one boy, and three young men.
I absolutely love helping women develop a deeper, more intimate relationship with Jesus.