I was once given a magnet postcard with a number of facial expressions and emotions. The aim was each morning to choose the facial expression and emotion that corresponded with how I was feeling. After about 2 weeks I gave up because I kept moving back and forth, between all the different emotions and facial expressions: happy, sad, glad, mad, angry etc.
I come to realize that I could not rely on my feelings, because they were not stable, they changed daily and sometimes for no apparent reason. Did you know that one of the greatest challenges we face has to do with our emotions?
Most days we tend to operate based solely on how we feel. However this can sometimes ruin your day as well as everyone else’s who you interact with. Say you wake one morning feeling grouchy, you growl at everybody at home, you curse as all the drivers who drive too slow before you or cut in front of you; then you get to work and fuss about every think you are asked to do. You refuse to be civil to your co-workers, and you bite of anyone’s head who tries to engage you in a conversation. All because we allow this feeling of grouchiness to determine the kind of day we will have. Instead of allowing our emotions to dictate our behavior, we should instead operate our lives based on the truth of God’s word. Our feelings and thoughts do not always communicate the truth to us. So often our perception can be so way off from reality we must be careful.
When feelings of loneliness, anxiety, depression, sadness, emptiness, anger come upon us, we should search the word of God for scriptures that will counteract these feelings. We should also pray and ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to control these emotions. None of the above emotions or feelings is ordained by God. Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to be our comforter, counselor, helper, and intercessor. Jesus also gave us Peace, Joy and Power and free access to His throne room. So grab a hold of them and let go of those feeling and emotions.
Practice this with your children by speaking into their lives the promises of God, by calling them as how God sees them not what you are seeing in the moment or how you may be feeling when they have plucked your last nerve. Instead let us purpose in our hearts to show love, compassion, and kindness to our children even when you may not feel like it. The Holy Spirit has already given you victory over your emotions, take it!
Phil 4:13- I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me
In His Service,
Vilma