Some days are just hard……..It can be a fight to keep my head above the waves of emotion I feel. Whether it is discouragement, fear, weariness, or maybe even disappointment, negative emotions can be draining.
In fact, they can even be deluding.
Some time ago, the Lord taught me a wonderful lesson about my emotions that I still use today. It helps me stop and realize what is happening, giving me the opportunity to stem the tide of negativity overwhelming me.
Giving me a visual picture of what happens when I start spiraling downward, He used dominoes to represent this tendency to let my emotions get away from me. Just as we have all seen countless dominoes lined up in intricate patterns on the floor, waiting for the first one to tip over to begin the whirring sound of all the rest, we know the chain reaction is stunning and fast-paced as they fall in a multitude of directions.
Well, so are my emotions evidently!! (I love how God knows how I learn best and teaches me in such a way that I understand and remember).
I may not have control over the “trigger” domino that initiates the process, but Jesus has taught me that I do indeed have control over the rest of the dominoes falling. It is my choice whether I let the rest “whir” away in all directions. If I do nothing, then off they go. But if I recognize and respond to that trigger domino, then the rest of the chain reaction need not get away from me. It all comes down to the correct response to the trigger.
The way I have learned to address the trigger has helped. Identifying that first emotional moment and considering what initiated it is crucial. By recognizing what has set off my feeling down, or fearful, or disappointed, I am able to then process the feeling through the Truth of God’s Word.
For example, if I am taken aback by a quick, unforeseen change of events, then I am able to remind myself how many times in Scripture God shuts one door before opening another one. I think about Joseph’s journey to Egypt. God could have taken him there by any number of ways, but He choose Joseph being betrayed by his brothers as a means for his transportation, where God wanted him placed for later use in His plan to save a nation.
If I am feeling disappointed, then I consider Proverbs 3:5-6. I am reminded not to lean upon my own understanding of circumstances, but to trust the Lord with all my heart and acknowledge Him in all my ways and He will make my paths straight. What that means to me is I need to trust God where I don’t understand certain things and just continue my efforts to do what is right. Let Him handle the rest.
It is by interjecting Truth after that trigger domino falling that I am able to commandeer the rest of the dominoes from falling.
I have a choice! I am not helpless in this emotional progression, nor held captive to circumstances out of my control. This is how I can take back the control of emotions going haywire and prevent the draining negativity from getting the better of me.
That takes care of preventing emotions from draining me, but what can be done against the deluded perspective emotions can bring about?
As I continue to read through my chronological Bible and blog about what I am learning, I come to a life changing portion of Scripture that set me straight a few years back. It forever balanced my skewed perspective brought on by my all-too-frequent pity parties.
Habakkuk 3:17-18 refuses to be ignored no matter how pathetic I am feeling.
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
If this man can be joyful and rejoice in the Lord, then there are no excuses that are valid for me not doing so. By reminding myself of this Truth, emotions are not able to delude me into thinking any pity party is acceptable. God is always worth celebrating no matter what is going on in my life!
It is only a matter of time before I am feeling better once I take action against that second domino falling. By countering the initial trigger domino with Truth from God’s Word, I am not drained nor deluded any longer. I am able to bounce back and cease being a victim of my emotions.
What about you? Are your emotions controlling you or are you controlling them? Do you feel captive to circumstances out of your control? People out of your control? Health out of your control?
Whether you feel lonely or afraid, inadequate or betrayed, emotions can wreck havoc and cause many a pity-party that leave us feeling a victim. But God offers us all, hope and encouragement through a different perspective if we just go to His Word for help.
Remember the first domino that triggers our emotion is out of our control, but then we have a choice. By His power and perspective, we can commandeer the rest of those dominoes and rise above what seeks to bring us down.
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