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Pressing On Through Difficult Emotions
We are created in the image of God as emotional beings. The Bible speaks of God as being pleased (Col. 1:9), being sorry and grieved (Gen. 6:6), expressing anger (1 Kings 11:9), and showing delight and love (1 Kings 10:9). The Gospels show Jesus as being angry and grieved (Mark 3:5) as well as sorrowful (Matthew 26:38). We too are capable of pleasure, sorrow, grief, anger, delight, and love because we bear the image of our maker. But because we have fallen short of the glory of God, our emotions are difficult to subject to Christ. They sometimes seem to seize us and take us captive, but Christ we have the hope of freedom.
1) Read the following passages. Leviticus 19:17, 1 Samuel 4:13, John 16:22, Romans 9:2. What do we learn from these verses about the source of our emotions?
2) What emotional struggle are you experiencing right now?
3) What do your emotions reveal about your heart? They could reveal a deep wound or maybe sin, or perhaps a lack of trust. Please answer prayerfully as Scripture warns that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
Unlike God who displays anger or loving-kindness according to his will, emotions happen to us involuntarily and do not always reflect truth. It is great to enjoy feelings of love, satisfaction and happiness, but often we struggle with difficult feelings. Often times we may be seized by anger, slump into self-pity, or be swallowed up by sadness. It is important to recognize our emotions for what they are. Often times difficult emotions are the result of sin, sometimes they stem from a profound hurt or loss. While Scripture does not provide an exhaustive list of human emotions, Galatians 5 offers a list of the works of the flesh, some of which are emotional.
4) Read Galatians 5:19-21. Which works in this list are emotional sins or related to sinful emotions?
5) Notice that emotions listed are called works. What is the difference between feelings of anger and fits of anger? What is the difference between feelings of jealousy and the work of jealousy?
6a) Read Romans 6:18-22. What does verse 18 say about the believer’s position or identity in Christ?
6b) What instructions do we receive from this passage?
7) Thoughts, which also originate in the heart, are related to emotions (Heb. 4:12). What wisdom do we gain from 2 Corinthians 10:5 concerning our thought life?
8) What thoughts do you entertain as you experience difficult emotions?
9) Do certain kinds of thoughts produce unhealthy emotions?
Through grounding in Scripture we learn to discern whether our thoughts are edifying and godly or destructive and sinful. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
10) 1 Corinthians 10:13 gives us a great and precious promise. What does this verse say a) About temptation?
b) About God?
c) About what God does for us?
11a) See Romans 12:1, 2. What commands are we given in?
11b) Verse 2 gives us promises of renewal of mind. What role do you think Scripture and the Holy Spirit have in this transformation?
12) We were once slaves to sin and all its consequences but Christ has set us free to be slaves to God. Serving our new master we bear a new kind of fruit which leads to our sanctification. Return now to Galatians 5 and read verses 22-23. Which fruits listed are emotional or related to emotions?
13) Which fruit do will be able to help you resist in your struggle with difficult feelings?
If we die to sin and live to Christ, the Holy Spirit will produce in us good fruit. Our hearts, characters, minds, and emotions will be renewed and transformed. Our faith need not be derailed by emotions, but our emotions become an opportunity to flee to God where grace abounds for all things.
14) Finally, read the following verses and list the promises and encouragement God gives us.
a) Isaiah 43:1-3
b) Jeremiah 29:11
c) 2 Corinthians 9:8
Whatever our struggle, God is our hope. We may not be able to banish every negative emotion we experience, but through God’s promises we can press on and stand firm in faithfulness to God, growing in Christ-likeness.
Copyright © 2007, Carol Duffy. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Pressing On Through Difficult Emotions
1) Read the following passages. Leviticus 19:17, 1 Samuel 4:13, John 16:22, Romans 9:2. What do we learn from these verses about the source of our emotions?
2) What emotional struggle are you experiencing right now?
3) What do your emotions reveal about your heart? They could reveal a deep wound or maybe sin, or perhaps a lack of trust. Please answer prayerfully as Scripture warns that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
Unlike God who displays anger or loving-kindness according to his will, emotions happen to us involuntarily and do not always reflect truth. It is great to enjoy feelings of love, satisfaction and happiness, but often we struggle with difficult feelings. Often times we may be seized by anger, slump into self-pity, or be swallowed up by sadness. It is important to recognize our emotions for what they are. Often times difficult emotions are the result of sin, sometimes they stem from a profound hurt or loss. While Scripture does not provide an exhaustive list of human emotions, Galatians 5 offers a list of the works of the flesh, some of which are emotional.
4) Read Galatians 5:19-21. Which works in this list are emotional sins or related to sinful emotions?
5) Notice that emotions listed are called works. What is the difference between feelings of anger and fits of anger? What is the difference between feelings of jealousy and the work of jealousy?
6a) Read Romans 6:18-22. What does verse 18 say about the believer’s position or identity in Christ?
6b) What instructions do we receive from this passage?
7) Thoughts, which also originate in the heart, are related to emotions (Heb. 4:12). What wisdom do we gain from 2 Corinthians 10:5 concerning our thought life?
8) What thoughts do you entertain as you experience difficult emotions?
9) Do certain kinds of thoughts produce unhealthy emotions?
Through grounding in Scripture we learn to discern whether our thoughts are edifying and godly or destructive and sinful. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
10) 1 Corinthians 10:13 gives us a great and precious promise. What does this verse say a) About temptation?
b) About God?
c) About what God does for us?
11a) See Romans 12:1, 2. What commands are we given in?
11b) Verse 2 gives us promises of renewal of mind. What role do you think Scripture and the Holy Spirit have in this transformation?
12) We were once slaves to sin and all its consequences but Christ has set us free to be slaves to God. Serving our new master we bear a new kind of fruit which leads to our sanctification. Return now to Galatians 5 and read verses 22-23. Which fruits listed are emotional or related to emotions?
13) Which fruit do will be able to help you resist in your struggle with difficult feelings?
If we die to sin and live to Christ, the Holy Spirit will produce in us good fruit. Our hearts, characters, minds, and emotions will be renewed and transformed. Our faith need not be derailed by emotions, but our emotions become an opportunity to flee to God where grace abounds for all things.
14) Finally, read the following verses and list the promises and encouragement God gives us.
a) Isaiah 43:1-3
b) Jeremiah 29:11
c) 2 Corinthians 9:8
Whatever our struggle, God is our hope. We may not be able to banish every negative emotion we experience, but through God’s promises we can press on and stand firm in faithfulness to God, growing in Christ-likeness.
Copyright © 2007, Carol Duffy. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
