As a stubborn sixteen-year-old my dad and I fought so often that we made life miserable for the rest of my family. In fact, my mom and sisters concocted a plan that whenever my dad and I fought we had to stand outside on the porch (whatever we were wearing) until we could work it out. We lived in Alaska – and it was cold (like many Iowa winters) – so we quickly learned how to work things out expeditiously.
In long winter months – where hours are like days, and days are like months – we are plagued by challenging emotions: frustration from being pent-up, persistent gloominess from the enveloping grey skies, anger or frustration from the circumstances we encounter, and more.
The human heart is filled with emotions: it thinks and remembers; it feels and experiences; it believes, chooses and we respond with action.
The Psalms are often known as the Bible’s prayer-book. In Psalm 13 we see David in verses 1-4 reeling because of the variety of emotions he is feeling. But then in verses 5-6 we see a turn. He’s preaching to himself as he talks to the Lord in his prayer. He is remembering God’s never-ending love and that causes his heart to rejoice! (This is a salvation that comes through acknowledgement and repentance of our sin, and applied faith in Jesus Christ as the One who paid the penalty for our sinful emotions and gives us the ability to live life to its fullest.)
Understanding our emotions is so important to living abundant lives as Christians wherein we experience all manner of emotions but are not held captive to any of them. We see the transformation of the thoughts, emotions, and actions of David (verse 6) as he realizes that his salvation is far greater than he deserves, and that fact alone moves his heart from mourning to singing!
Do you know that Jesus lived, died, and rose-again so that you can be free from captivity to how you feel, and even learn to feel rightly in more of your life as you begin to believe and act more in line with what is true, which we learn about in the Bible, God’s Word to us? To be sure, there is no quick fix.
I won’t pretend to know your story, but I (and other pastor-friends in the area) would love to have the opportunity to hear your story and walk alongside you in this life if you would allow us. You might be surprised how quickly those cold conversations – or feelings – will be warmed up by the light of Scripture and the penetrating heat of the Holy Spirit who God gave as our Helper and Friend.
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