Peace - Get off the Emotional Rollercoasterናሙና

We are a new creation, filled with God’s spirit. He lives with us. If it’s true that in his presence is the fullness of joy and he lives in us, shouldn’t we all be joyful all the time? Is everyone joyful all the time? No way. Why? Because we still live in the flesh.

Think about the dashboard on our cars. The check engine light will come on to warn us if there's a problem under the hood. It gives us a warning so we can take care of the problem. I believe that's exactly how God designed emotions. He gave us emotions just like a car’s dashboard. When we have emotions rise up in us, we can look at those lights and it will tell us whether we are living by God or by our emotions? 

The scripture says that there are two kinds of emotions: godly emotions and worldly emotions. When Jesus found that people converted the temple into a marketplace, he had righteous anger. He threw over tables and said, “My house will be a house of worship, not a den of robbers!” That’s godly emotion. 

Worldly emotions are selfish. We make ourselves the center of those emotions. It is self-centered. James 3:16 says, “Where there is envy and selfish ambition, you will find disorder and every evil work.” When we operate out of the selfish, worldly emotions, we’re going to find disorder and every evil work. Can you resonate with that? 

We’ve been misusing our emotions, milking them, thinking they’re something to lift up and tell everyone. The world has basically told us, “You need to say how you feel. If you hold it back, it’ll be like sweeping it under a rug and eventually, it’s going to explode.” We hear it everywhere, but it is a lie. 

God gave emotions to us as a gift. We have to use it as God has intended so we can live in the fullness of joy in his presence.