Dealing with Our Emotions

Dealing with Our Emotions

A few months back I got a call from my podiatrist that took me on a journey with my emotions that I had never experiences before. She said, “The biopsy on that ulcer on the bottom of your foot came back as a level 5 melanoma.!” Uh-oh…that sounds like trouble…a million thoughts filled my mind and every conceivable emotion hit me right between the eyes.

Then I made a huge mistake…I googled “foot melanoma.” Try that and see what it says…YOU ARE A GONER!

My mind raged with a million thoughts, and most of which were not positive. “Where did that come from?” I would read about how people suffered from the disease and even the treatment and my mind would reel with images of intense suffering. Then I would pray and God would give me peace…only to go through the up and down emotional torment again and again. I could not believe what was happening to me. Then as I processed the situation and really turned it over to God, peace came…and peace remains today. I had surgery and was given a good report and prognosis…but I had suffered for weeks at the mercy of my uncontrollable emotions. “I was fed up with my emotions.”

So, where does all of that come from? Answer; It is a well designed part of you that God put there to get your attention when things go wrong, when you are in danger, and even when good things happen. Let’s look at our emotions here.

EMOTIONS ARE GOD-GIVEN – He has made us body, soul and spirit…emotions are weaved through every part of our fiber.

It starts with God expressing emotions. He shows us His emotions in scripture… grief, compassion, jealousy, anger and even, in the case of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, a stress over the eminent suffering He faced on the cross…he sweat drops of blood!

Since we are created in God’s image, it is natural that we have those same emotions and more. Look at our list.

Here is a partial list of emotions – anger, fear, happiness, sadness, temper, excitement, gloom, hatred, depression, jealousy, and the list could go on for a while. So, how do we respond to these emotions in a healthy way? Consider the following.

EMOTIONS CAN SERVE AS “WARNING LIGHTS” – WHEN SOMETHING IS WRONG, THE LIGHT COMES ON. Similar to the warning lights in your car, your emotions can alert you that something is wrong within you (fear, anger, depression from disappointment or bad news, etc.) There are of course good emotions. (But that is not so interesting to write about, so let’s look at the negative ones)

 These “warning lights” may have a “short circuit” – you may not be working right. There may be a sickness that is affecting your emotions like the news of the newly discovered cancer in my body. Or maybe you’re overworked and losing sleep. It could be relationships that are falling apart or the loss of a family member or even the loss of your job. All this can bring on strong negative emotions that have debilitating results.

Maybe you just have “flat” emotions – i.e., not experiencing a full range of emotions (this commonly occurs when people are denying some of their feelings – such as anger) (i.e. the quiet man next door becomes the serial killer). (Lack of emotion for family) Romans 1:31.

Whatever your emotions are at present, know that there is an overcoming power available to you through Jesus Christ. In my next blog I will discuss how God helps us overcome the most devastating situations in our lives and how He helps us control our most extreme emotions. 

p.s. So you don’t have to wait to hear about my cancer…it was removed surgically and the doctors think that they got it all. No evidence that it has spread…Thanks be to God…

Next post we will look at how guilt, shame and sin affect our emotional health. 

Q: what emotional binges have you been on lately?