It is said that women are more emotional than men. Now, I don’t know how true that is, and this devotional is not written to debate or discuss the truth of it —but rather to bring to light how living by our emotions, whether we are male or female, can oftentimes be very dangerous.
Emotions, are they a bad thing? Absolutely not! They are what make us human. Emotions are tools. They let you know where you are in your life and if you need to make changes. They are the body’s way of letting you know that you need to pay attention to something. Overall, all emotions provide guidance, but they are not to lead us. They give you insight into how you are in the present moment, and not anything else. They aren’t a true source of support for you, so don’t live from that place.
Your emotions will betray you. They are dangerous and will oftentimes lead you down the wrong path but the emotions that we feel do not dictate truth; truth goes against our emotions —and so we should not allow them to shape or dictate how we live. John 8:32 says, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Live by truth—and it will set you free.
When we live by our emotions and not by truth, they eventually cause us to disobey and dishonour God. When we live by our emotions, we end up walking away from breakthroughs and meaningful relationships. Living by emotions gives the enemy room to taunt and accuse us. As children of God, we have to bring our emotions under the Holy Spirit’s control.
Emotions are essentially good because it is the way that God designed us to experience and process life— But when they drive our lives it leads to problems. Consider the fact that our hearts have been impacted by the fall. The heart, in Hebrew, is considered to be the seat or centre of emotions; and the bible tells us that, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked…” (Jeremiah 17:9). If the heart is considered to be the seat or centre of emotions, and it is considered to be “deceitful” and “desperately wicked”, how then can we live by our emotions?
Our emotions pull us in different directions. One moment we can be full of elation and joy and then the next minute full of frustration, anger and sadness. One moment you’re confident and the next minute you feel threatened and fearful. So the big question is how do we deal with our emotions?
We deal with our emotions by bringing them under the Holy Spirit’s control. One of the greatest privileges we have as Children of God is that we have the Holy Spirit’s indwelling, influence and guidance in our lives. With His help we can manoeuvre life properly; we don’t have to be led astray. We can submit our emotions to Him; have him wash, purify and refine them.
Friends, whether you are a woman or a man, let us put to death our emotions. “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13). The Holy-Spirit is ever willing to help control your emotions before they control you; bring them to Him. Will you?
Scriptures for meditation: John 8:32, Jeremiah 17:9 & Romans 8:13
Angelisa is a Jesus enthusiast, Worship leader & Christian youth leader. She considers herself to be the old-fashioned type of girl who loves spicy food and belly bottom laughter. Among her passions are singing, working with children, and encouraging others.