God-emotion

My daughter just hung up on me.  She asked a question but did not like my response.  I called her back but she did not answer.  The choice I have is to react with my human emotion or with the gift of God-emotion given to all who live in Christ.  There are numerous occasions in our interactions with others that we choose between being moved by our human nature (e-motion) or allowing God to move us (God-emotion).  Wisdom and private victory begin in knowing we have a choice.

The last five women I have prayed for in public meetings have had a common thread in their stories:

• I don’t feel in love with my husband anymore
• I don’t feel the joy of the Lord
• I don’t feel that God is near
• I don’t feel necessary since my nest is empty
• I don’t feel like praying

About forty years ago, a Christian speaker shared a poem as an object lesson and I wrote it in the front of my Bible.  I was reminded of the poem when I prayed for these women.

Three men were walking on a wall, Feeling, Faith, and Fact.
When Feeling took an awful fall and Faith was taken back.
So close was Faith to Feeling that he stumbled and fell too.
But Fact remained and pulled Faith up, with Faith came Feeling too. (Author Unknown)

The women I prayed for had once experienced intense feeling that gave them great joy. What I heard in the heart of each of the women was the fear that they had “lost” those feelings.  I realize it is absurd to even suggest that someone should not feel a certain way. The fact is that we do get angry or afraid or sad.  We are human.  But when those emotions come, we have a power over them that the world does not.  The emotions do not have to consume us or rob us of the joy of the Lord (God-emotion).  We, as Christian women, have the power to control that fear and the feelings that come with it, not in our own strength, but in the strength of the Holy Spirit. We can walk in peace that all things work together to them that love the Lord.

As believers, the fact is that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of love, and power and a sound mind.  (2 Timothy 1:7)   I have power over my human emotion.  I have access to God-emotion.

I recently lost my husband of forty-four years.  In the midst of grief, I found myself in the predictable stage of uncontrollable sobbing in the late evening and would cry myself to sleep.  In the morning, my face hurt, my throat hurt and I feared this lack of control of my emotions could possibly erupt during one of my classes and frighten my students.  I did frighten the precious intake nurse when I went to my doctor for help, God bless her.  When she asked what my problem was, all I could do was cry.  “Oh, oh, oh”, she said as she backed out of the examination room, “I’ll be right back with the doctor”.

My prescription came with the promise that it would stop the crying, the feelings, but not the grieving process. But, I soon realized that feelings are a gift from our Creator and are meant to give us enthusiasm for life, to move us to action.  The word enthusiasm means God’s energy.  The joy of the Lord (God-emotion) is our strength.  Fear can be overcome with love (God-emotion).  A sound mind (God-emotion) is available to guide our perspective and allows us not to sin and be robbed of our peace.  God loves us and gives us the freedom to choose His energy, His God-emotion.

God grant me the wisdom in the midst of the turmoil of life to choose the gift of God-emotion when I am tempted to respond in the natural.  Praise you for an escape from the prisons of fear and worry and doubt.  Help me to walk the path of FAITH and rest in the FACT that you are God, that you love me, that I have been made righteous, and that you have given me the power to live an abundant life, no matter what I may be FEELING. 

This post was written by Linda Hutcherson. To read more about her, click here.