Holy Emotions - Biblical Responses to Every ChallengeSample

God made you to flourish and to inexhaustibly thrive. He spiritually designed you for emotional and spiritual abundance in every season of your life. His plan was never that you would be shriveled up emotionally and trampled upon by anger and depression and worry. God knew that we would all experience vicious windstorms and the pollution of our culture, but His creative genius provided a way to stay connected to the Vine during all of life's erratic seasonal changes. God's will for you is to flourish in every area of your life and that includes in your emotions! The word "flourish" is a Hebrew word that is rich in meaning and in usage. It always refers to something or someone who is growing by those infamous leaps and bounds. "Flourish" is a word picture of a plant that is destined to grow abundantly regardless of the climate or drought. The Psalmist declares that "the righteous man will flourish like the palm tree." If the Bible uses the word "righteous" to describe a person, it means that this person has willfully chosen to connect himself or herself to God. You will flourish, then, in direct proportion to your connection with God! If you choose to bask in His presence on a daily basis and spend time in the Word and in prayer, your life will be a grand display of the growth that comes from your connection to His righteousness. Many Christians are more connected to the pain of their past than they are to the reality of God's presence on a daily basis. It really does matter to you emotionally whether or not you read your Bible every day. It really does matter to you emotionally whether or not you worship in spite of your disappointment. It really does matter to you emotionally if you pray for those who have been unkind to you. It really does matter. When you choose well, God will cause the growth! You will begin to grow by leaps and bounds both spiritually and emotionally because you are receiving life from God. The fruit of the Spirit will miraculously make you into someone who has the temperament and personality of God. You must work in tandem with God until your emotional responses to the climate around you are the result of your deep and rich connection with Him.