It was just a sticky note that hung from an old bible on a shelf in my office. The bright pink color caught my eye, but the words that were written on the small square was what caught my heart.
“Without emotion there is no beauty”
I remember the day I wrote these words. It was in black bold sharpie and I had written it on a neon pink sticky note for a reason. I didn’t want to forget why I had written this sentence down.
I was having a lousy day. The hardest kind. The kind where your head does most of the work and the narrative being created causes tormenting thoughts. These harsh impressions were crushing my soul.
Sadly, I was the one creating these thoughts.
I was the one hurting me the most.
Have you had this kind of day? All emotions and feelings driven?
It can be hard not to allow our thoughts, feelings and emotions to take the driver’s seat and thrust us straight over the cliff, Thelma and Louise style!
This can be difficult for someone like me who tends to see the world through the lens of a boundless range of heart driven passions (that’s just a fancy way of saying that I allow my heart to lead me most of the time).
My heart is as wide as a yellow flagged semi cruising down the highway. It has always been something I’ve wrestled with, because I didn’t understand why I couldn’t just “toughen up” or “grow thicker skin” or “stop letting other people bother me so much”.
Recently I learned that God can use our emotions to grow us closer to Him. This little truth blew me away. I was floored at the idea that God had actually GIFTED me with the ability to “feel” so many things.
I learned more about the gift of emotions in Genesis 1:26 which says we are made in His image. I believe God created us just like Himself! And emotions are part of the package.
God has revealed Himself as an emotional being in MANY VERSES (Exodus 34:6, Jeremiah 10:10, Matthew 21:12, John 11:34, Deuteronomy 30:9, Psalms 147:11 & Proverbs 14:35)
I think it’s important to say that I believe being made in the image of Jesus and just because He was an emotional being…this does not give us the right to make unwise and rash decisions based on our emotions.
But it does give us the right to abandon any shame we associate with being created with huge feelings and passions!
If you find yourself at the edge of the cliff today, I want to encourage you to seek God’s word for the truth about why you were made with every emotion you are feeling today.
Some are unpleasant but none are bad. Remember that if you numb out the unpleasant feelings, you run the risk of numbing out the healthy and pleasant ones too.
Emotions can serve a purpose, even when they’re nonconstructive.
Instead of trying to change the emotions you are living through, consider how you react to them. It’s usually the reactions that create challenges, not the emotions themselves.
As you back away from the ledge, I want you to know that Jesus has set up victory for your life. Don’t grow weary! The purpose He has for you is abundant and full.
So, today I pray you celebrate, mourn, get overly excited, be deeply satisfied, ache with sorrow and fiercely dance with amusement in pure confidence that the creator made you to thrive and with a HUGE AND SIGNIFICANT PURPOSE, girlfriend!
