Controlling Your Emotions

What is the secret to stable emotions? Are you controlling your emotions or are they controlling you?

Emotions are feelings on the inside caused by pain or pleasure and created to move you in a certain direction. We all have them. We are made in the image of our Father and He has emotions, but those emotions were not given to us to govern our lives. We were given emotions to enjoy life and express passion, not for them to control us. If you can control your emotions, you can do absolutely anything. Proverbs 16:32 says, “Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.”

Feelings move you in a direction. When they come, you can learn to neutralize them and control them. Learning how to harness your emotions is paramount in the life of a Christian, as they will move you away from Christ or toward Him. Psychology is trying to deal with your problems without God. They don’t believe in the spirit portion of a man. They only deal with the mental and the emotional.

Self control is a Godly force designed by Him to direct our lives to a place where He wants us to go. The enemy will create a negative circumstance to move you away from God’s will for your life. He wants you to get angry and offended by that remark that your co worker just made and lash out with bitter words. He knows that if you are easily offended, he can work through your emotions to destroy your relationship with her. This is why the Lord tells us to be hard to offend and quick to forgive.

It is not okay for you to lose it when you get pressed or things do not go your way. It is important for you to understand that have you authority over your emotions. Emotional eating, emotional dieting, emotional spending, and emotional outbursts are all a result of your emotions ruling you rather than YOU ruling THEM. You will live a happier, stress-free life when you know how to pause. Learn to keep your mouth closed when your buttons are pushed.

What is God’s will for you? 3 John 2 says, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” God’s will is for you to be successful in every way, and the only way this happens is by renewing your mind with God’s Word. God created us to be in control as He is control of all creation. In our failure to control ourselves (your emotions) you find yourself trying to control other people, to get that sense of superiority that God gave us. We mess up when we can’t control our on emotions, so we try to control other people. We have that need to express that superiority so we try to control others.

God created us to express passion and emotions, but when sin came in to pervert our emotions, we started hurting others. We’re not talking about psychology which does not deal with the spirit man. Psychology teaches you about your feelings, but it does not teach you how to control them. Your spirit man is what gives you the ability to take authority over your emotions.

You, my friend, are a tri-part being. You are a spirit that possesses a soul (mind, will and emotions) that lives in a physical body. Your soul is in the middle of your spirit and body. Your soul is the compartment that contains your emotions. You will be as healthy in your body as you are in your soul. Satan attacks you in your soul as your feelings will move you in directions, whether good or bad. When you move into a direction to curse someone out, your emotions moved you in that direction. Those that cannot control their emotions are the weakest people on the planet.

Whatever goes on in the soul determines success or failure. The flesh is a mindset that goes against the word of God. As goes your soul, so goes your life. God created us to be in control of our emotions as He is. People who try to control others are people who can not control themselves. In our failure to control ourselves, we attempt to control others. We are not designed to be in control of others. We are designed to control ourselves. When you control yourself, you have no desire to control others.

How does it all start? Everything starts with exposure.  If you want to control your emotions, start controlling what you expose yourself to. Whatever you’re exposed to will determine how you think. If you expose yourself to a lot of cursing, you will start cursing. How you think determines how you feel. If you feel depressed, ask yourself, “What have I been thinking about?” Once it gets into your emotions, your emotions are designed to move you. Your emotions impact your decisions. It ALL starts with what you allowed yourself to be exposed to. This is why we are called to guard our ear and eye gates. Decision is an open door to reality. Emotional decisions lead you down a wrong path. We are all where we are today based on our exposure.  What are you exposing yourself to?  Who are you hanging out with? What are you watching and listening to?  Your output in life is determined by your input.  

Do not expose yourself to things that will tempt you to move in a wrong direction. If you don’t want to be tempted to spend money, then don’t go to the mall. Temptation is pressure applied to your emotions to get you to move in an opposite direction of God’s plan for your life. Jesus had pressure applied to his emotions to quit. Your emotions is where sin is found.

For the most part, women are more aware of their emotions. Men have just as many emotions as women, but culture says men aren’t supposed to have emotions. “Man’s law” prohibits them from demonstrating them. Men need to be able to shed tears. If they can’t shed tears, they will end up shedding bullets. Men who are not trained to harness their emotions properly are missing out on a lot. Man law is the biggest reason men abandon their families. They get filled with shame because they don’t feel like they measure up. A big issue in our society today is men who cannot control their emotions. They don’t know they can harness them and not allow them to control their lives.

Men internalize their emotions and bury them. Eventually they come out. They may come out in fear, anger, drug abuse, violence or addiction. Women express their emotions outwardly. Women express themselves verbally and share their pain with one another which helps them to heal. Fear of what society thinks of them keeps many men emotionally repressed. Repressed emotions are like a beach ball... you can only hold them under the water for so long until they come popping up. So many men today have repressed anger that has never been talked about or dealt with and it’s coming out in very destructive ways.

Adam and Eve came under the curse of being emotionally ruled. Before the curse, they were ruled by God. They went from flowing with God to being emotionally ruled. Single women...when looking for a man, do not choose one who can not control his emotions, or he will try and control you. When you control your emotions, you are rooted in peace. The root of not being able to control your emotions is hopelessness... believing you are powerless to change. When you believe you are stuck, you feel powerless to control your own life so you try to control others.

Anger is an expression of fear. You express your fear through your anger. The next time you are angry, ask yourself, “What am I afraid of?”

Our job is to master life. Is life mastering you or are you mastering it?  Prospering in all things is mastering your life. God’s will is for you to be successful in every way, and the only way this happens is by renewing your mind with God’s Word. 3 John 2 tells us that prosperity of the soul is a renewed mind. Above all things, God wants you prosperous in your soul, as it brings health to your whole life. Where your soul goes, so goes your life.

God created us to be in control as He is control of all creation. In our failure to control ourselves, (our emotions) we find ourselves trying to control others to get that sense of superiority that He gave us. You being able to manage your emotions determines if life will control you or you will control it. We are made to reflect God’s love, His power, and His authority. When God looks in the mirror, He sees us.

Love,

Sherry :-)