Emotions, gages or guides?
I want to share a recent post I shared with a friend who was struggling with feeling depressed, hopefully it'll help others out there. I've expounded a little bit more as I've had more time to think on the subject.
I want to encourage you to always remember that God gave us emotions, and he did it for a reason. Heck, even God has emotions.
God gave us these emotions to experience life in all it's fullness. He gave them to us so we could enjoy life and be able to recognize when things were wrong/bad.
God gave us emotions to act like a gage, like what you'd find on the dashboard of your car. Your "feelings"/emotions let you know whether things are good or bad, functioning right or wrong, inbalance or out of balance in your life, but they are not rational and are not to be your guide.
Always remember, God gave you feelings/emotions to be your gage to let you know that things are where they should or should not be, but they are not your guide. The emotions will tell you SOMETHING is wrong, but not necessarily WHAT is wrong. What your emotions are saying is wrong or is the problem may just be a surface issue, it may be something a whole lot deeper and bigger. Something we really don't want to have to address or deal with, for whatever reason, be it fear, pride, selfishness, you name it.
Your guide must always be wisdom and understanding. True wisdom and understanding is more than knowing what the Bible says (what the truth of the matter is), but it's knowing how to apply/do it in your life. It's knowing the right response, decision, or coarse of aciton.
Wisdom and understanding are your rational in times of hightened/extreme emotion. Emotions know no logic. So, emotions can lead you astray. Emotions are the gage to say something is very right or very wrong and all that is inbetween. Wisdom and understanding are the guide to how identify and fix what is wrong and how not to go off the deep end when things are really good.
Beware of worldly wisdom and understanding/logic. They can lead you astray.
Here are some ways to grow in wisdom and understanding and build a solid foundation of rational to guide you when the gages go into the red.
1. Remember you need to renew your mind with God's Word (Truth) to have a sound foundation of rational/logic. So, read it and know what it says.
2. Specifically read Philippians 4:6-8 faithfully and do what it says. Also, there are 31 chapters of Proverbs, one for each day of the month, read a chapter every day, every month. You might think this will get old, but the wisdom of God is inexhaustable and Proverbs is no exception.
3. Learn the art of application! True wisdom is not knowledge only, but both knowledge and application of that knowledge. Do what it says!
4. Remember the promise of perseverence! James 1:2-4; 1Peter 1:6-7; and Hebrews 6:11-12. Learn to never quit or give up.
I want to encourage you to always remember that God gave us emotions, and he did it for a reason. Heck, even God has emotions.
God gave us these emotions to experience life in all it's fullness. He gave them to us so we could enjoy life and be able to recognize when things were wrong/bad.
God gave us emotions to act like a gage, like what you'd find on the dashboard of your car. Your "feelings"/emotions let you know whether things are good or bad, functioning right or wrong, inbalance or out of balance in your life, but they are not rational and are not to be your guide.
Always remember, God gave you feelings/emotions to be your gage to let you know that things are where they should or should not be, but they are not your guide. The emotions will tell you SOMETHING is wrong, but not necessarily WHAT is wrong. What your emotions are saying is wrong or is the problem may just be a surface issue, it may be something a whole lot deeper and bigger. Something we really don't want to have to address or deal with, for whatever reason, be it fear, pride, selfishness, you name it.
Your guide must always be wisdom and understanding. True wisdom and understanding is more than knowing what the Bible says (what the truth of the matter is), but it's knowing how to apply/do it in your life. It's knowing the right response, decision, or coarse of aciton.
Wisdom and understanding are your rational in times of hightened/extreme emotion. Emotions know no logic. So, emotions can lead you astray. Emotions are the gage to say something is very right or very wrong and all that is inbetween. Wisdom and understanding are the guide to how identify and fix what is wrong and how not to go off the deep end when things are really good.
Beware of worldly wisdom and understanding/logic. They can lead you astray.
Here are some ways to grow in wisdom and understanding and build a solid foundation of rational to guide you when the gages go into the red.
1. Remember you need to renew your mind with God's Word (Truth) to have a sound foundation of rational/logic. So, read it and know what it says.
2. Specifically read Philippians 4:6-8 faithfully and do what it says. Also, there are 31 chapters of Proverbs, one for each day of the month, read a chapter every day, every month. You might think this will get old, but the wisdom of God is inexhaustable and Proverbs is no exception.
3. Learn the art of application! True wisdom is not knowledge only, but both knowledge and application of that knowledge. Do what it says!
4. Remember the promise of perseverence! James 1:2-4; 1Peter 1:6-7; and Hebrews 6:11-12. Learn to never quit or give up.
Labels: antidepressant, depression, Emotional health, Emotions, feelings, health, logic, reason, relationships
posted by Pastor Mike @ 11:07 PM
2 Comments
