Most of our decisions, reactions, thoughts, and memories are driven by our emotions. Since emotions are hard to define and change frequently, they can be a place of great confusion and complication in our lives. Negative emotions such as loneliness, fear, anger, and guilt can overwhelm what should be happy and productive days and make them seem unbearable. Thankfully, for each of these negative emotions God provides a way for us to rise above and live at peace with our feelings.
In times of loneliness, we can turn to God for companionship and perfect love. When we are fearful, God reminds us that he is stronger than anything that might threaten us. When anger threatens to consume us, God's wisdom has the power to put out any fire and bring us back under control. Finally, when guilt overwhelms our spirit, God reminds us to remember that he has already provided the cleansing sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ. If we have already accepted Him, there is no longer a need to wallow in our guilt because God has declared us "not guilty." Our emotions, complicated and changeable as they may be, are not out of our control and with God's help they can be a new place of victory and simplicity in our lives.
1) Out of the four emotions listed (anger, fear, loneliness, guilt), which do you struggle with the most? Which are not an issue for you?
2) Many people have decided that how they feel is not really something that they can control, even with God's help. If you were in conversation with this person, even if that person is you, how would you convince them of God's power over emotions?
3) All of the four negative emotions listed above can go beyond simple emotions to lived out actions very quickly. Describe a time when you let one of these emotions lead you to do something that you later regretted.
