Emotions Aren’t Always Right

Flounce: verb. A term used by Joe to describe Ronda’s tendency to react an emotionally intense manner (typically resulting in an apology from her once she calmed down)

Unaffected: adj.: A term used by Ronda to describe Joe’s typical reaction to above mentioned flouncing (which only increased the tendency to flounce)

News Flash! I may or may not be a bit high strung. I feel all the feelings in a big way. Sometimes it serves me well. Other times, well…let’s just say I apologize a lot.

Exhibit A:

This week, Joe’s lesson is about emotions. He was as good as anyone I have ever known at keeping his emotions in check. Could it have been that he was writing to me at this time last year? I did look back through our text messages to see, but I truly can’t say for sure. 🙂

However, he was DEFINITELY writing to me this week. It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster in Ronda Land.

He wrote:

Not Everything You Feel is Right

How many of us let our emotions get the best of us? I’ve heard it before that “I was so mad” or “That upset me so much that I…” Often, when our emotions get the better of us, we do or say things we may regret…or we do things we maybe would have done a little differently if we’d had better control of ourselves.

Romans 8:6-8: “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.”

I’d like to share with you a few important reasons from God’s word on why we need to learn to deal with how we feel.

1. Our emotions may not be reliable. That initial gut feeling may not be right. We are sinful by nature and our emotions can lead us into something blindly. We cannot depend on how we feel in the moment for the right answer.

Proverbs 14: 12: ” Not everything you feel will lead you in the right direction”.

At this point, Joe must have stepped away from his notebook. I took full advantage and added the note “…ask your wife…her answer is always right”. 🙂 I just wanted to you understand what poor Joe was dealing with on a daily basis. Let us continue…

2. We should learn to control our emotions so that we won’t be taken advantage of. I have always heard that if we don’t control our emotions, they will control us. Negative emotions can be the devil’s favorite food. He will use fear, resentment, and worry to cause trouble in your life. 1 Peter 5:8 says to “be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil prowls like a roaring lion for someone to devour.

3. We should manage our emotions to please God. God cannot rule your life if you let your emotions rule it. If we make decisions based on how we feel, then we have made feelings our god. We have replaced God.

4. We need to manage emotions because we want to succeed. How many people have you heard of who ruined their career or reputation because of something done in anger? Or maybe you know of someone who missed an opportunity because of a lack of self control. Proverbs 5:23 says that “he shall die without instruction and in the greatest of his folly he shall go astray.” When we choose to follow Jesus, that includes giving Him our emotions. He wants all of us. He wants to be the Lord of how we feel, not just what we think and do. He wants us to make our decisions based on His love, His Word and our faith in Him.

So, as we go out into the world this week, and are faced with situations that test our emotions, let us try our best to pause and breathe in the love and power of Jesus before we give in to our emotions. Instead of how we “feel”, let’s trust in Jesus to “fill” us with what we need to face each day.

-JMP

I typically do not read the lesson for the week ahead of time. I wait until the weekend, so that my own writing is a fresh response to what Joe’s lesson means to me at that particular time. Honestly, I wish I had read his words early just this once. As I look back, I see that my emotions pretty much led me around like a puppy on a leash all week long.

My sweet 94 year old grandmother passed away this week. I replaced FIVE tires on two vehicles. I moved my oldest child into a college apartment. I am juggling my teaching positions at the high school, the college, trying to help with Joe’s business, manage the estate, etc. It’s a lot. Ya’ll, I am tired.

If you want to see me wear my emotions on the outside of my body, just let me get really tired or really hungry. If I happen to be tired and hungry at the same time, well…head for the hills is all I can say.

I was knocking it out of the park on “feeling”. What I was striking out with was the “filling”. Now, I start every single day with about an hour of time with my Jesus, and that is truly a sacred part of my daily routine. However, if I do not allow Him to fill me during the hours that follow, I am not putting myself in a position to enjoy His peace when troubles come (as they always will).

Sweet friends, we are all going to flounce. It’s who we are, and that is ok. As God’s children we are perfectly imperfect. But when we allow those feelings to rule us, to overcome us, not only are we behaving in a manner that is displeasing to Him, we are missing out on one of God’s greatest gifts–the gift of peace and joy in our hearts, regardless of our circumstance.

Joe didn’t know it, but in the text message pictured above, he was giving such truth to the message of this week’s lesson. Give all the feelings to God. Even the ugly ones. And when you flounce, tell Him you are sorry. My friend, you will find you are already forgiven.

-Words of Wisdom from The Book of Joe