Emotions lie

How we respond to troubles has a direct correlation to where we stand with God. Think about that for a second. Now think about the last time you faced a troubling situation and how you reacted to it. What was your first instinct? The flesh will try to rule us when troubles come our direction (can I get an Amen?) Satan knows just how to snare us, after all, that is his ultimate objective. If we aren't careful, if we aren't tending to our spiritual lives, when troubles come our way we will panic and by nature we will let our emotions be our compass. Once we allow this to happen, the damage can spiral out of control rather quickly. Once our emotions are guiding the way, it does take long for our behaviors to become impulsive and  irrational. I can't count the amount of times that while in an emotional frenzy, I have made decisions or uttered words that I later regretted, and I'm sure that I am not alone.

Self reflection is a vital aspect to our  spiritual journey and it should be happening every day. I've noticed that I do a great deal of reflecting, but I often neglect monitoring and examining my thoughts and feelings. Nearly every time that I have found myself in a spiritual famine, I can successfully trace the moment that my soul began to wither to a negative emotion that I did not properly address, thereby  allowing it to take root. Emotions are powerful, but they are not always honest.

2 Corinthians 10:5 instructs us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. This is no easy task and to accomplish it requires not just a reliance upon the Holy Spirit, but it also requires us to take ownership and responsibility for the thought that we allow to wonder in our minds. When we ask God to help us control our thought lives, He will begin task of revealing to us areas that do not align with His Word. This often gets ugly, especially when God starts digging into deep rooted issues which we've been refusing acknowledge and to turn over to Him.

I've seen both sides of this. I'm not good with filtering my emotions. My emotions often weave a giant web of confusion in my head, but God has been gently and patiently removing what does not conform to  His best for me.  It has not been fun, and I'd be a liar if I said that I haven't tried to fight Him about the disruption I've felt He has been causing me. Once I cry uncle and submit to God, the results are not always instantaneous, but the evidence of the work being done can be seen.

Over the past few years I've struggled with doubts. I've hauled around the heavy burden of resentment, sometimes towards God and sometimes towards people.  I've found myself in denial of obvious realities. I've created problems and blamed others and God for the messes they resulted in.  I've sprinted in the opposite direction from God's voice in ways that make Jonah appear to be obedient. All of these examples came to fruition as a result of not properly identifying and dealing with emotions.

Emotions will lie. In order to conquer emotions, rather than be conquered by them, we must train to see them. We must pay close attention to which ones can overcome us the easiest. And more importantly we must study God's Word and see if how we are feeling and reacting matches His standards.