By Stacy Lattisaw Jackson

Emotions respond to actions and events in our lives. Emotions are good and God given, but we must never be led by them. Being led by our emotions often causes bad decisions resulting in consequences. Sometimes we say “If it feels good, then do it.” However, the decisions we make will always affect our future. I’ve heard it said that women are more in tune with their feelings and more sensitive than men. I would agree with that. We are more likely to act on feelings before we’ve applied our minds to the issue at hand. One of our prayers everyday should be “God, control my mind, will and my emotions.” Most of us will have less guilt, frustration, loneliness, and insecurity if we were more thoughtful in our planning instead of acting hastily and impulsively.

When we have internalized truths that we believe with our minds and our hearts, they function as the foundation of our actions. Sometimes, as a result, our actions cause us to suffer consequences that are self-inflicted. When we study the book of Job, we see that Job walked upright before God. Though Job suffered, he brought none of this upon himself. He lost his children, his finances, his friends deserted him and he even became sick. But through it all, Job did not sin nor did he let his emotions get the best of him. Job’s wife obviously became emotional during his suffering. She said to Job, “Why don’t you just curse God and die.” Job’s response was “You foolish woman, though he slay me, yet will I trust Him.” So we see that Job wasn’t moved by what he saw or felt. Job was not moved by his emotions. He kept his peace and held on to his faith. God honored Job’s faith and in return God blessed him with even more than he had lost.

The question is how do we manage our feelings and emotions? We simply pray and ask God everyday to control them. We can’t imagine God’s emotions, but we can grasp glimpses of David, who was a man after God’s own heart. We can say with accuracy that our emotions are a part of God in us. Gen. 1: 27 tells us that we are made in God’s image. We might say that we are patterned after God. Let’s be glad that we have feelings and be glad that we can cry. Don’t be ashamed of the tears because God collects them in a bottle. And for some of us, He has big jugs. Accepting that our emotions are good and God-given is the beginning of feeling good about our emotions!