As Christians, we feel great about emotions like “joy,” “peace,” and “affection.” But what about emotions like “rage,” “bitterness,” and “disappointment”?
God created all of our emotions. Emotions are not sinful-it’s what we do with those emotions that can be sinful. But the more comfortable we are with feeling them, the more likely we are to process them in a healthy way and not let them control us.
It makes perfect sense to God that you feel really jealous about your best friend getting married before you. He totally gets you feeling bitterness about your parents’ divorce. And he understands rage-he feels that himself!
Your big emotions-all of them-come as no surprise to God. So take after David in the Psalms and freely express all of your emotions to God, and see what he does to transform them.
He loved to pronounce a curse-
may it come back on him.
He found no pleasure in blessing-
may it be far from him.
He wore cursing as his garment;
it entered into his body like water,
into his bones like oil.
May it be like a cloak wrapped about him,
like a belt tied forever around him.
May this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers,
to those who speak evil of me.
But you, Sovereign Lord,
help me for your name’s sake;
out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Nicola Katie
