Sarah checked her outfit in the mirror, grabbed her purse and headed out the door. She had been planning and preparing for homecoming night for months and couldn’t wait to meet up with her friends. She arrived at school only to find Jake, her crush, laughing and chatting it up with some of the most popular girls in school.
Sarah’s emotions ran wild with jealousy and she found herself sulking the entire night. She couldn’t help but wonder if Jake “liked” one of those girls and would soon forget that she existed.
Sarah’s emotions were out-of-control when it came to guys. When guys noticed her she was happy, when they didn’t, she was upset. She was unpredictable to her girl friends and an either happy or sulky mess at home.
Unpredictable Emotions
I don’t know about you but I can absolutely relate to Sarah on the “out-of-control” emotions dilemma. I can clearly remember times where I’ve felt absolutely great, then out of nowhere, someone makes a comment that makes me feel on edge. All my “good feelings” are gone and I’m suddenly totally upset.
Can you relate to this dilemma?
We as girls seem to wear our emotions on our sleeves. When we feel good, we are happy. When we feel bad, we are unhappy. It can switch in a matter of a split second and it can happen back-and-forth multiple times in a row.
After doing some research and thinking this topic through, I’ve come up with 5 truths to help us as girls combat our “out-of-control” emotions.
Five truths for the emotional girl:
1. God created your emotions.
God created us in His image and He is a God that has emotions. He has love, joy, patience, righteous anger, wrath and many other emotions revealed in the Bible. Imagine how dull life would be if we didn’t have emotions?
God knew what He was doing when He created you in His image with emotions. You have the ability to experience passion, sorrow, joy, peace and crazy amounts of love. Emotions that are based on truth can be a huge blessing and an exciting part of life.
2. You feel what you think.
Emotions become a problem when we start to believe lies. When we start to think thoughts that are false or twisted we start feel things that are false or twisted. I love what Erin Davis has to say on this topic:
“You may feel like no one loves you when in fact there are dozens of people in your life who care deeply for you. Difficult circumstances may cause you to feel like God has abandoned you when His Word promises that He will never leave you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6). You may even feel like a challenge you are facing is impossible to overcome despite the fact that God’s Word promises that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13). The bottom line is, our emotions don’t always reflect God’s Truth.”
You see how that works? When you start to believe the lie that “no one loves you” you will start to feel like no one loves you. You feel what you think. Think on truth and you will feel the emotions that accompany truth. Think on lies and you will feel the emotions that accompany lies.
3. You can control your emotions.
Despite what modern psychologists will tell you, it is possible to control your emotions. If you “feel” depressed, you don’t have to pop a pill to make yourself “feel” better. The pill may help for a moment but the root of your issue is still there. The way to control your emotions is to control your mind. Out-of-control emotions are an outpouring of an out-of-control thought life.
“Out-of-control emotions are the product of a heart which is not saturated with Scripture. The way to control our emotions is to control our minds, renewing them by the daily input of scriptural principles, the knowledge of God, and meditation on His attributes. Then the Holy Spirit, along with the Word of God, will bring about appropriate emotions based on truth.” -GotQuestions
If we as girls would control our thinking by filling our minds with God’s truth, our emotions would be a blessing to us (as well as those around us) and not a curse.
4. Your emotions are a reflection of your heart.
The Bible says that the fruit of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control. I guess that would mean worry, anxiety, depression, fear, anger, rage and jealousy, would not be the fruit of the Spirit.
If your heart is full of truth and daily filled with God’s Word, the overflow is going to be the fruit of the Spirit. “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).
If your heart is self-focussed and consumed with you, the overflow is going to be selfish, sinful emotions. Get your heart focused on God and your emotions will reflect His truths. I highly recommend reading “How to Become a Godly Girl” to help you put this into action.
5. Praise is a powerful weapon.
God didn’t create you with emotions and then leave you in the dust. He has given you powerful weapons to fight off false emotions and live out true and pure ones. I have found that one of the most powerful weapons in gaining control over my emotions is praise!
I once heard Nancy Leigh Demoss say that anytime she is feeling emotionally down or depressed, she stops what she is doing and spends time quoting Scripture and/or singing praise songs and hymns. I wasn’t sure how effective her plan would be to solve this emotion dilemma of mine, so I tried it for myself. One day when I was feeling down, I stopped what I was doing and started singing praises and reading Scripture. Before long my “down” feelings were gone and I had renewed energy.
Praising God is one of your mightiest weapons when it comes to your emotions. Try it out the next time you are feeling down and I think you will be shocked by the results.
Let’s talk about it…
- Have you ever experienced out-of-control emotions?
- Do you believe that God has the power to help you overcome your ups and downs?
- How can you apply any of the five truths to your current emotional dilemma?
Photo Credit: www.flickr.com | philippeleroyer
