I am a very emotional person. Everything I do is done with feeling. The thing about being emotional is that there are some emotions that we love, like happiness, and some we don’t love, like sadness. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t very emotional. Sometimes emotions seem more like a hinderance than a help. I used to wonder why God made me such an emotional person, because life would be easier if I didn’t have so many emotions. But then God showed me a new perspective on emotions, one I’d like to share with you.

We have emotions, because God has emotions. Our emotions reflect the kind of emotions God feels. The Bible is full of examples of the emotions that God has:

Isaiah 43:4 “Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.”

Psalm 103:13 “Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.”

Zechariah 8:2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.’”

In the New Testament we read that Jesus was angry when the money changers were defiling the temple. He wept with Mary over the death of Lazarus. He felt compassion for the crowds who gathered to hear Him because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

Because God has given us emotions that reflect His own emotions, we can have a deeper understanding of who He is. In reality, being an emotional person is actually a blessing from God because through emotional experiences He will reveal Himself to us in new ways.

I remember one time in particular when I was feeling abandoned by some friends, and God showed me that He knew what I was feeling. Israel left God over and over again in the old Testament. And when Jesus died on the cross all but one of His friends deserted Him. God showed me through my experience of loneliness how He could relate and how He feels when we reject Him. God knows how we feel when we feel lonely, rejected, or brokenhearted, because He has felt those pains too.

Another example is when I feel intense joy in seeing a baby or toddler discover new things. It reminds me of how God is our Father, and He takes just as much delight in you and me as I do in that little child.

But being emotional comes with its hardships too. Our emotions, especially the negative ones, tend to want to run our lives. How do we control our emotions instead of them controlling us? How do we use our emotions for God’s glory and not our own? Here are a few tips I’ve learned that have helped me:

1: Discipline your emotions.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”

Whether we realize it or not, we all choose our emotions. When we’re tempted to have negative, ungodly reactions and emotions in different situations, it’s good to remember that we have the power in Jesus’ name to choose to reject ungodly emotions and choose godly ones.

2: Pray about your emotions. God has emotions too, and He wants us to share in His emotions. He wants us to love what He loves, hate what He hates, and have His compassion for the hurting and the lost. Pray and ask God to align your emotions with His emotions, and as He does so it will draw you closer to Him.

3: Cultivate the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

How do we cultivate the fruit of the Spirit? By being in a constant relationship with God – reading the Word, praying, and then minute by minute choosing to listen to the Holy Spirit and do the right thing with our attitudes and emotions even when it’s super hard. Ask God to grow the fruit of the Spirit in you. Ask Him for the strength to live them out even when it’s hard. Ask Him to take control of your emotions and use them for His glory.

4: Use your emotions to show others God’s love.

Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”

Being emotional means that we can feel with others when they’re hurting, sad, or anxious. We can get excited with others when they’re rejoicing. We can use our emotions to reach out to others and show them the love of God. Be willing to be a listening ear, a cheerleader, or a voice of encouragement.

I am so thankful that God understands my emotions, and even though it is tough to learn to choose godly emotions over negative ones, I’m so glad that He gave me the emotions He did. Through the craziness of them all God reveals more of His nature to me, and He can use my emotional personality to teach me to reach out to others. Praise God for using even us emotional people for His glory!  🙂

With love,

Kelsey