Life is more colorful with emotions!
Have you noticed how feelings bring dimension and interest to each day? Excitement and happiness brighten our perspective. Compassion and empathy etch meaning into relationships. Blotches of sadness and concern add degrees of depth.
All of our emotions God designed us to experience. In light of that, it’s worth considering why we have certain feelings and express them how we do. In our self-centered nature, we often justify our feelings and how we display them, but Proverbs 21:2 tells us that “every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart” (ESV).
We are created in God’s image (Genesis 5:1b). In his perfect nature, God’s emotions and how he expresses them are always valid. Because he is extravagant with his love and mercy, we should “give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind” (Psalm 107:8 NIV, letter G for Generous in Follow and Lead). Even God’s jealousy and anger are righteous, because he is holy and just. His love for us sent Jesus to Earth and to the cross of sacrifice (John 3:16-17). Through written history and in our own lives, we see how “the LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love, forgiving sin and rebellion” (Numbers 14:18a NIV, letter L for Love in Follow and Lead).
As our faith deepens while we abide in Jesus, God offers grace as he molds us for his glory. He is a personal, powerful provider. In love and truth, he instructs us as we grow in godliness. Through his Word and by the work of the Holy Spirit, God develops in us his peace, his patience, and his self-control, for example (Galatians 5:22-23).
As with any aspect of our being, God wants us to handle our emotions in ways that honor him. His character is on display when we express ourselves according to his nature.
Jesus, God incarnate, allowed mankind to see firsthand how emotions can be expressed in their best form. He can relate to us, his creation. In love, as he obeyed his Father and served mankind, Jesus’ feelings came from his pure heart and communion with God. As we read through the gospel accounts, we find that Jesus experienced many emotions in his life here – joy, empathy, compassion, sorrow and grief, anger, disgust, frustration – on his path to offer us forgiveness.
How will we show our gratitude for God’s mercy and Jesus’ sacrifice as we live each day?
What will be the picture we paint with our emotions?
Learn more of God’s character as you work through Follow and Lead.