Deep Mercy in Dark Clouds

Emotions and feelings ... as the old saying goes: You can’t live with ‘em and you can’t live without ‘em. We’d rather not live with anxiety, fear, worry, doubt, and anger. But can you imagine living in a world without love, joy, hope, and peace? It seems like we may be in a “catch 22” situation.

Not only do feelings and emotions seem to make life more complex, they also seem strange. They can be strange in that they can make us behave in ways that we don’t want to. We know it’s not right, but we go ahead and do it anyway. That’s dangerous. Emotions can also make us think in ways we don’t want to. We know something is not true, but we feel it is. That’s scary. No wonder that emotions have a bad reputation. It’s not a compliment when someone is thought of as emotional.

Does God expect us to exercise control over our emotions? If so, how do we do that? Most importantly, how do we glorify and honor God with our emotions?