God has given us such a broad spectrum of emotion, and from infancy we are able to communicate our likes and dislikes in such an intuitive yet haphazard way. I believe that God has given us the ability to feel many different ways so that we may experience a deeply abundant life in Christ, where we can identify with others, empathize with others and maybe even gain a small perspective on how God feels towards us, as his children.
Though we’ve been gifted with different emotions, we’ve still got to be vigilant stewards of how they shape our everyday lives and decisions. We may not always have complete control over how we feel, but we do have control over how we respond to circumstances that may prompt our emotions to rule over us.
The Holy Spirit is a HUGE helper when it comes to self control and will often help us control negative, overzealous behavior, blatantly rude words toward others, or even protecting us from our own self inflicted emotional bouts.
When I originally thought of the concept: Eating from the table of Emotion, I saw a banquet table lined with the finest foods, but when I went over and saw the serving platters, attached to every delicious dish, was an emotion. Sadness, next to doubt and joy, anger wedged in between depression and peace. I had the option to pile whatever onto my plate, savoring and feeling what I wanted to. But what I noticed was that there were only two serving spoons and they had already been used in things like grief and anxiety. I waited to see if the waiter would come to replace what had already been used, but no one ever came. I was forced to use the same spoon that had just been in anger to dole out my own happiness and joy.
Galations 5:22 reminds us of all the good fruit that the Holy Spirit develops in our lives, but it is not necessarily in the absence of feelings and emotions that may affect us in a negative way. Even though sometimes in life we’re forced to eat of sad and oppressive situations, we still have the option to press into the Holy Spirit; partaking in joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness instead. It may not always be easy, but knowing that tough times effect everyone is a great forecast into the future and an amazing opportunity to trust that God will take care of us in those times.
Love Always,
Amber Danielle
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