I think I have said with every 31 day post that it resignates with me so much. This one is no exception!
A couple of weeks ago I had a pretty big financial mess that created a lot of chaos in my mind. The guilt was unbearable. The failure I felt was heavy. The tears wouldn't stop. I am not talking a trickly. I am talking a faucet. Snot, swollen eyes, wailing... I didn't like it.
I WAS EMOTIONAL.
The more emotional I got the worse I felt.
You see, I was expecting myself to react a certain way when a trial came. I was expecting to be all unicorns and butterflys when the rubber met the road but that didn't happen. Because that didn't happen, I felt that I let God down. I let my family down.
In my mind, I felt fear which meant I lacked faith. I was nervous about the outcome of this financial situation which meant that I didn't trust God.
These were lies but I still felt that way.
A couple of my best girlfriends really helped talk me down. We all talked about the importance of our emotions. The way they gauge what's going on in our minds. We have actually discussed that God created emotions in us and it is healthy for us to release those. I got it but I didn't really GET it.
But then I read an excerpt from the most amazing, freeing book I have read in a long time!
"Is there a way to be honestly, blamelessly emotional? Is there a way to take off the mask of the fake fine, to speak the truth and not sin? In order to discover that option, I have to confront what I believe about my mood. As a good girl, I tend to think in extremes. Just as decisions are either right or wrong, emotions are either good or bad. Happy? Good. Sad? Bad. Joyful? Good. Disappointed? Bad. Compliant? Good. Confrontational? Bad. There is no place in the bible where it says emotions are catagorized as right or wrong." It goes on to say "Feeling scared meant I needed more faith. Feeling anger meant I needed more control. Feeling confused meant I needed to get it together and figure things out. In theory, I knew I was supposed to cast my fear, anger, and confusion on the Lord. But after "trusting" him with my circumstances, I thought it was MY RESPONSIBILITY TO CHANGE THE EMOTIONS AND KEEP MYSELF FROM EXPERIENCING THEM AGAIN" (emphasis and italics mine)
Can you say REVELATION?
You can have emotions and it is OK. It's ok to be scared. It's ok to be happy. It's ok to be angry, confused and even confrontational. At the same time, it's ok to be joyful and to laugh (alot).
Our God created emotions in us. He knows that we have emotions. He knows what type of emotions we will express before we let them out.
If your way of releasing stress is through crying then cry a river! Cry a river with a spirit free of condemnation. Crying doesn't mean you are weak.
If your way of releasing happiness is shouting then shout until your lungs are sore! Shout with spirit free of embarrassment.
YOU ARE EMOTIONAL and it is a good thing :)
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