Hey, Sisters! I have always been fascinated by emotions, so I have wanted to deep dive into what the Bible says about them for a verrry long time now. I believe God did some of his most incredible work with us when he added emotions to the human equation. We all have them, and some of us are more emotional than others, which isn’t a good or a bad thing. It is just the way we are! Hang in there with me while we go 3 things the Bible says about them!
1. God created us full of emotions on purpose.
“So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27
I am so glad that he didn’t just want to create robots; he wanted individuals who could feel, interact, communicate, and love him and each other. God and Jesus both expressed emotions throughout the stories of the Bible, and because the Bible is about real people, emotions are all over the place! Let's talk about some of them.
God himself expresses a range of emotions in the Bible.
In Genesis 25 “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” we see that he was pleased, happy. When we get to Genesis 6:6, he expressed regret in his creation’s choices and his heart was grieved. God’s feelings of joy are evident in Zephaniah 3:17, where “he will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”. There are several verses that capture God’s anger - Psalms 7:11, Psalms 78:59, and 1 Kings 11:9-10. He is a jealous God, he is a righteous God, and gets angry when his character is violated. He wants us to love and obey him, because he wants the best for us. It is not un-human for us to experience anger, but it is clear that it should not lead to sin. God is also full of compassion for his children. In Psalms 145:8, it says, “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.”
Jesus expressed a range of emotions while here on Earth, as well, which allows him to relate to every one of us as humans.
Jesus wept over the death of his friend Lazarus, had compassion for the crowd who followed him, expressed overwhelm and sorrow as he reminds his disciples of his coming death, exhaustion from teaching, anger when he saw them selling in God’s temple, and frustration with his disciples when they didn’t understand when he was teaching them, just to name a few.
There are many examples of emotions by God’s people as we read through the stories in the Bible including Cain killing Abel because he was jealous, King David's lustful emotions toward Bathsheba, and Joseph overcome with emotions when he saw his brother - he broke down and wept. We feel emotion all throughout our bodies. Emotions have been around since man was created by God. There are all kinds of emotions found in the Bible - love, fear, sadness, anger, peace, joy, exhaustion, frustration, hate, and many more.
Doesn't that all sound like us?
2. God says “Fear not!”
Merriam Webster has two definitions of emotions - an essential definition and a full definition. The essential definition says that emotions are a strong feeling. The full definition says that emotions are a conscious mental reaction such as anger or fear that are subjectively experienced as strong feelings usually directed toward a specific object and typically accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes in the body. Positive emotions allow us to experience love, and give us the ability to connect and have relationships with others. Negative emotions, when unmanaged, can keep us separated from God, and we are unable to experience his full blessings and abundant life that he has for us.
Fear is one of the most mentioned feelings in the Bible.
Fear can mean many things and in a healthy way, can keep us safe from danger. A ‘Spirit of Fear’ is directly from Satan, and God warns us about this over and over. In fact, in some versions of the Bible, “Fear not!” is mentioned 365 times, one time for each day of the year. Other versions, such as the King James may relay this same idea as “Do not be afraid.” I don’t know about you, but it would do me good to read that verse each day to prepare me for all of my thoughts, and to remind me to rely on Him always. I have struggled with fear my whole life. In fact, the first scripture I identified with was 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind”.
3. God has given us specific instructions when it comes to managing our emotions.
When God created Adam and Eve, he gave them specific instructions for living in the Garden of Eden. He told them that they have dominion over all things, and they could eat from any tree they wanted except for the one tree. Satan made Eve envious to know what God knows, the knowledge of good and evil. He created feelings of distrust of God.
God wants us to pour our hearts out to him and trust him with our innermost hurts, needs, and desires. He wants nothing more than a relationship with you. We are supposed to go to him first, cast our burdens and anxieties on him because he cares for us, and he will sustain us. It is also incredibly unhealthy to not pay attention and recognize our emotions. If you are looking for a great read, you can check out the book "Feelings Buried Alive Never Die" by Karol K. Truman.
God tells us to rest and renew our mind. (Romans 12:2)
We shouldn’t go a hundred miles an hour all the time. Have you ever noticed that when you are tired, completely depleted, that you are more emotional? That definitely rings true for me. We were made with the need to rest and to be filled up.
Our thoughts lead to our emotions. (2 Corinthians 10:5)
When we think of emotions, we might not think much about our thoughts and how they might affect our emotional status. God says we must take every thought captive. We need to run all of our thoughts through His filter before we let them influence how we feel.
Do not be anxious about anything. (Phillipians 4:6-7)
Do I need to say this one again? God means don't be anxious about anything. Easier said than done sometime, isn't it? Bring everything good, and bad to our Father.
And finally, “In your anger, do not sin…” (Ephesians 4:26)
Emotions are normal, how you control or manage them is what matters the most. Our emotions simply tell us how we are really doing, how our heart is doing at that moment in time.
We must learn to give ourselves some grace when it comes to our emotions. And don’t forget that our emotions certainly do not define us, only our relationship with God does. Embrace your emotions… they are part of the immaculate, intricate work that God did when he created us, and a gift that makes us human.
At the end of the day, God is, has always been, and will always be about LOVE. And love is the greatest emotion of all.
0 Comments