…Before your head hits the pillow…

I’m an Emotional Wreck!

Have you ever heard those words? Maybe you have even said them. Having emotions is part of the way we were creating but having out of control emotions is not what the Lord for His children.

God created us with the ability to love, to laugh, and to feel joy and happiness. But if we have lost the connection with our Lord our emotions can get out of control. If we fail to recognize that God is in control of our lives we can experience emotions that lead us to fear and despair.

Romans 8:9 tells us that because of the Spirit who lives in us we can control our emotions. “You, however, are not controlled by the sinful nature but are in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Galatians 5:24 says, “Those who belong the Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”

If you feel that you are an emotional wreck or if you experience mood swings, first up and then down, you may be lacking self-control. The goal of a Christian should be emotional maturity and stability. Emotional instability drains your energy and stresses those around you. Don’t ever let you emotions make decisions for you. If you are in the midst of making a decision and you feel emotional, take time, slow down.

GotQuestions.org in their answer to “What does Bible say about managing/controlling emotions? Says, “Out-of-control emotions are the product of a heart which is not saturated with Scripture. The way to control our emotions is to control our minds, renewing them by the daily input of scriptural principles, the knowledge of God, and meditation on His attributes. Then the Holy Spirit, along with the Word of God, will bring about appropriate emotions based on truth. When we immerse ourselves in the only means of our sanctification – the Bible- we arm ourselves with the only affective weapon against out-of-control emotions. Then we can control our emotions instead of them controlling us. In themselves, emotions are not unbiblical, but they are indications of what is in our hearts.”

Things that occur in our lives can cause emotional distress: Harboring ill will toward someone can make you spin out of control. Not letting go of guilt and shame after the Lord has granted forgiveness will cause emotional dysfunction and grief can certainly throw you into a tail spin. But if we stay constantly in the Word, if we meditate on the Lord and seek Him in prayer, you will be able to handle these emotions. You should not expect that this will all be easy but it will be manageable. With God’s help you can change any out-of-control emotion into a maturely controlled emotion.

B. Shelburne in Making Jesus Lord of Our Emotions gives us these tips: Quiet your soul. Psalm 131:2 says, “But I have calmed myself and quieted my emotions. With God’s help you can do this.

You must also hand over emotional burdens to God. Once you have handed them over DON’T take them back. And if they do come back immediately give them back to the Lord. Shelburne says, “If you have handed something over to God, every time it tries to return you must give it back again until gradually a new pattern is formed. Make a covenant with God that each time the thought returns, you will instantly give it back without spending time in struggle or guilt.”

Shelburne also gives these encouraging truths. “1) If it seems too hard to change, remember that our character is the sum of our habits, and our habits are the sum of our repeated choices. As we decide more and more often to entrust our burdens to God and deal with our emotions according to His directions, we will store up less and less poison and we will have growing inner peace. 2) We will succeed more in dealing with destructive emotional thoughts if we do so when they first appear, and are small and manageable.

So if you feel that you are an emotional wreck, turn it over to the Lord. Spend time in the Word and in prayer and then bask in the love of your Lord. Doing this repetitively will certainly calm your emotional storm.