Emotional Health
One day, after telling a group of people about a personal struggle, I felt very anxious. I couldn’t figure out what was going on, so I asked the Lord, “Why am I feeling this way?” I became still, and He showed me, “You are feeling vulnerable, not anxious.” Immediately, it made sense! I told a very personal story and I felt exposed. In response to this revelation, I asked God to cover me. Immediately, I sensed His peace descend like a guard over my heart and mind. I gave him my anxiety (a symptom of vulnerability) and He gave me His peace.
I have heard it said that emotions are to us like dashboard lights are to a car. Like those lights, our emotions indicate something going on under the surface.
Have you ever been advised to not pay attention to your emotions? I agree that our emotions are not designed to drive us – any more than those dashboard lights should take the wheel – but, they are designed to tell us something. We would be as immature to ignore our emotions as we would to put tape over the check engine light.
We steward emotional health by paying attention. At some point, we must stop, look under the hood, and assess the real problem. Our emotions are not lying to us – they are telling us the truth about what we believe – even if what we believe is a lie! This is how we use the gift of our emotions to take us deeper into the realm of belief. Our beliefs are what drive us.
How do we “look under the hood” of our lives? Jesus isn’t only the Great Physician, He is the Great Mechanic. He is the best diagnostician of our emotional realm. He gave us those emotions!
God is an emotional being and He made us in His image. God gets angry, pleased, sad, and jealous. Because emotions are indicators of what is happening in our soul, God will use our emotions to get our attention. And we must engage Him to be healed -- Lord, what am I feeling? Why am I feeling this way? Is there a lie that I am believing that is causing this strong emotion?
These kinds of questions, used in cooperation with Scripture, provide incredible insight. The key is to pay attention. If there is a warning light illuminated on the dashboard of your soul, it may be time to pull over, get quiet, and ask God what He has to say about what you are feeling.
He can diagnose us, and He can repair us because He is, after all, the Great Mechanic.
Prayer: Lord, I choose to pay attention to my emotions. Will you show me what I am feeling? What beliefs are driving those emotions? I invite You to repair areas of misbelief and bring me into greater alignment with Your Truth.
