Being Emotional

“You know, somewhere in the world of philosophy, we made a huge blunder across the centuries, when we lost contact with the reality of our emotions and made human beings purely cerebral. Then in the 1960’s, the existentialist philosophers became so popular focusing on emotion, focusing on passion, focusing on experience, and swung the pendulum to the other side to where rationality was not as important as much as acting for the passion of the moment. Somewhere in the middle is the balance. God has given us our emotions for a reason, just as he has given us sensitivities to touch. When you put your hand on something that burns, you pull it away. The reason you pull it away is because you know if you leave it there it will burn the rest of your body. Emotions are supposed to be indicators of reality, not fabricators, or framers of reality.”

Remember the entry from May, “Common Sense.” It is imperative Christians understand the beliefs that are producing their emotions. Emotions cannot define reality: I feel therefore I am. Emotions do not (and should not) define your identity nor should they be used to define your decisions nor should they define your sense of “normalcy.” Emotions are to be identified then evaluated as to the root beliefs that are producing them. By doing so, we can then evaluate those beliefs against objective truth and change those beliefs that are culturally derived rather than Biblically defined. This process needs to take place in our quiet place, every day before we start the day.

Ravi Zacharias also said in another sermon that if we do not spend these moments with God first thing in the morning, we will be overcome by our emotions by noon. The fruit of self-control is only possible by having been informed by the truth and filled by God’s Holy Spirit during a worship encounter at the beginning of our day. Of course, worship begins in the quite place. It continues throughout the rest of the day as we pray without ceasing, evaluating ourselves and our environment by truth and prayer. Having met with God at the beginning of our day, we are focused enough on him to recognize him later. Likewise, we have been equipped with the armor of God which enables us to fight the spiritual battles and challenges we are sure to face.

Be honest with God as you spend time with him in your quiet place. He knows what you feel so you do not have to hide feelings like anger and frustration that are uncomfortable to share. Pursue understanding the intricate depth of his mystery, diligently working through the tedious task of finding words that express your feelings and his identity even though no adequate words exist. You will come to find words you have heard before take on new meaning.

Finally, make singing and/or reading Psalms a part of your time with him. Praise him and thank him even and especially for the challenges and pain you are dealing with. God inhabits our praise and hope is born of suffering. Both involve emotion:

“You cannot worship without emotion. There is that bond of love. There is that relationship of love. When we are stirred in worship, the voice is giving vent not just to an idea, but to an emotion.”

Understanding the role of emotions in worship is essential for knowing how to worship him in spirit and in truth. True of any relationship, you must relate to God emotionally in order to know love and be loved, thus equipping you to rightly love other people.

Psalm 51:1-13 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. 7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.