Emotions are powerful. They propel us to action, but beware: they often are lies.
Emotions have the power to change the course of our future! If we rely fully on emotions, we could make some very poor decisions! How can our emotions lead us astray?
- Abusive relationships
- Poor business decisions
- Shopping therapy
- Destructive eating habits
- Hoarding and living in excess
- Laziness
- Selfish parenting
- Marital strife
- Drugs/alcohol abuse
- Jealousy and bitterness
- Depression and anxiety
Normally, our current emotional state wants us to believe that we deserve more. More love, more stuff, more happiness, more fulfillment, more appreciation, more power, etc. So we can be tempted to leave what we have in order to fill the deep emptiness we may be feeling.
Our emotions are scarred by our sin nature and they need controlling. Let’s look at what God’s Word says about our feelings and emotions.
Philippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Proverbs 29:11: A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.
Proverbs 15:18: A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.
Romans 12:2: Do not be conformed to this world,[a] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Galatians 5:16-17: But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
1 Peter 5:6-10: Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Ephesians 4:26-27: Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
Proverbs 25:28: A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.
Psalm 119:105: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
2 Timothy 1:7: For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
1 Corinthians 14:33a: For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
James 1:20: For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Psalm 40:1-3: I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.Psalm 119:9: How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
Titus 2: 1-6: But as for you, teach what accords with sound[a] doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. 6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.
Proverbs 16:25: There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
These are just some verses. Do your own study for yourself on how your emotions can lead you astray. So what can we do to prevent our emotions leading us in the wrong direction?
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Be in God’s Word Daily
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Meditate & Memorize Scripture
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Pray more
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Ask for wisdom
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Be in God’s Will & Trust Him
