Redeemed and Regulated: Learning to Embrace the Gift of Emotion

The gift of emotion is one of the most unique treasures that God has given. It colors and animates our lives, highlighting our unique personalities, experiences, and memories. Our emotions coexist alongside the mind, will, intellect, and affections in the human soul.

While our soul becomes eternally new when we accept Christ, we continually transform each day and moment as we present ourselves back to the Lord (Romans 12:1-2). In the turbulence of human life, we may experience moments of being more aware and influenced by our emotions than rationality, reason, or sometimes, even the Spirit of Christ who resides in us.

Emotion and the embattled heart

Jesus warned His followers that they would experience challenges in the world, but He has given them the power and peace to exercise godly dominion in every spiritual battle (John 16:33; Ephesians 6:10). In our process of continually evolving into who God has designed us to become, we are challenged by the difficulty of living in a fallen and imperfect world.

We, like the rest of humanity, are not exempt from life’s peaks and valleys or its accompanying range of emotions. However, we don’t have to be controlled by our feelings. As we submit our lives to the Spirit of Christ, we can learn to embrace the experience of having emotion as a vital part of who God made us.

We are aware that our enemy constantly wages war against us. Our souls, where our minds and emotions live, need to be renewed on an ongoing basis. When we persist in fear, stress, anxiety, and worry, they plant themselves in the soil of our minds. When they take root and rise, they confuse our minds and further influence our emotions, often causing us to experience feelings, and engage in behaviors that don’t reflect God’s best for us.

But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy. – Ephesians 4:20-24, NLT

God does not expect us to mask what we feel, but rather convey it honestly and in love. We don’t have to lash out at others or suppress our emotions. As we surrender what we feel to the Lord, He will show us how to express our emotions with others in ways that allow us to be heard and seen, while fostering healthy connections.

God wants us to learn how to regulate our emotions, so they don’t control us, further embroiling our minds and hearts in unnecessary turmoil. It is in learning how to communicate the depth of our emotions that we can resolve internal issues that could otherwise be damaging. As we are led by the Spirit, and not by our emotions, He redeems them, allowing what and how we feel to bless, and not burden, our lives.

Intimacy with others through emotion

A display of emotions can invoke intimacy with others, further knitting us with our sisters and brothers in Christ. When we experience empathy and compassion, it prompts us to demonstrate love in action.

When we rejoice and mourn with those who are experiencing times of happiness and grief, emotions foster connection. Our shared human experiences are often marked by emotions that allow us to relate to others with understanding. Recognizing emotions as a gift can positively influence and shape our lives and relationships.

Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. – Romans 12:15, NLT

Intimacy with God through emotion

Emotions have the potential to invoke intimacy with God as well. God will use our emotions to indicate an unseen need that He wants to meet. When we notice a heightened emotional response, or perhaps a trigger response surfacing in our lives, we may find that God wants to bring healing or highlight an issue that we need to address.

Instead of abiding in shame for having feelings, we can reset our perspective on how to regard and regulate emotion. Our emotions can represent a place to seek Jesus and learn from Him, as our perfect example.

In Gethsemane, Jesus expressed despair over what He knew was to come. Fabricated charges, trials, and torture paved the path to His crucifixion. While Christ could have opted for a convenient exit from the pain and suffering He endured, He chose to surrender instead.

As He had done throughout His earlier experiences in life on earth, He showed us how to submit our emotions and concerns to God. In preferring the Father’s Will over His own comfort and choice, Jesus teaches us how to face our discomfort with the Father who will always cover and care for us.

Jesus brought the written Word to life, to embrace those who would believe in a personal relationship. As we allow His Holy Spirit to live more fully in us, we welcome the heart and the nature of God to transform our souls. While we aren’t led by emotions, emotions can indicate areas that need attention.

The peace and comfort of His presence enable us to acknowledge what our hearts are communicating. It may not be easy to confront, but He provides the strength to attend to and address underlying issues.

Acknowledge

While having feelings is a part of our human nature, they don’t have to dictate our lives. Yes, we do need to acknowledge them. When we ignore our feelings, we deny ourselves the opportunity to respond to a calling – whether that be for growth or healing.

When we ignore our emotions,   we negate the part of us that may need to grieve a loss or grow a new skill. Ultimately, we miss opportunities to become more like Christ. whether it is an expectation or an experience that changed us in some way.

Contrary to myth, simply acknowledging our uncomfortable or distressing emotions does not give the emotion power. Rather, it offers an opportunity to notice what has been troubling us. We can observe and regard our emotions and ourselves without judgment so that we may make intentional choices forward with, and toward, our Healer.

Attend

We need to attend to our uncomfortable feelings. While we might imagine that situations would change on their own or our feelings would go away, nothing changes until we do. It is not easy to navigate the uncomfortable or painful, but we don’t have to face it alone. When we bring burdens to Him, Jesus exchanges them for what is bearable by His grace. He empowers us to do what we otherwise could not (Matthew 11:28-30).

Address

There is no limit to what happens when we pray, especially when our requests flow out of what God’s Heart desires for us. Our conversations with God in prayer are part of our remedy for healing, growth, and change.

We put our faith to work when we exhibit the commitment to address our issues by taking necessary action beyond our talks with God. Prayer changes everything, but part of that transformation involves the actions we take. Gathering support, engaging in godly counsel, and consciously adjusting our behaviors are part of an ongoing process.

Next steps to regulate emotion

Wherever you are experiencing a battle for your mind and with your emotions, know that you have help available. The Holy Spirit, who lives inside of you as a believer, will direct your path into the peace that Jesus offers through His life and death.

Your choices to take the next step and seek a counselor on this site will support you in making positive changes. While we cannot expect overnight change, we can expect that cultivating the garden of your thoughts and emotions will produce a harvest of God’s gifts and goodness in your soul.