Unexpected Emotions

READ: PSALM 62:1-8; MARK 14:33-34; JOHN 11:32-44

Have you ever been in a really emotional place—one where you’ve never been before? I have. Those situations are hard to navigate. They can be overwhelming, lonely, and sometimes scary. When complex feelings come our way, it can be easy to believe the lie that we need to isolate ourselves until we “fix” the problem or “get over” our feelings. But real freedom is found in asking friends and family to come alongside us and listen to our struggles.

This isn’t always easy. We might worry that the situation will seem small or stupid because we “shouldn’t be feeling like this and just need to get over it.” Or maybe we don’t want to “burden” anyone else with our overwhelming feelings. These worries can make us feel even more lonely—maybe even worthless.

But let me encourage you in your struggle. Any emotion we have, whether someone says it’s “correct” or not, is real. Because—whether we’re misunderstanding a situation or the circumstances truly are that difficult—our emotions are telling us it’s time to take a step back and figure out what’s going on.

Believe it or not, no matter what we’re going through, God understands. He created us with emotions because He has emotions. Yet He knows that, for humans, processing emotions can be messy because we live in a world that has been broken by sin. Thankfully, God doesn’t just understand us—He empathizes with us. How? Because Jesus came and lived among us, fully God and fully human, He experienced all our brokenness firsthand, and every emotion that comes with it, even the deep pain of the cross. He wants us to come to Him with every single emotion we have so we can experience His mercy, His care, and His help (Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 Peter 5:7). We find models of how to do this all throughout the book of Psalms. Many psalms were written by David—a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). David knew God loved him, so he repeatedly poured out his heart to God, no matter what he was feeling.

When we have unexpected emotions, we can do the same. We can take deep breaths, call out to God and others, and remember we’re not alone. • Abigail Rose

• What kinds of emotions have you been feeling lately? It could be this week, today, or right now. Consider taking some time to let out your emotions to God like David did in the psalms.

• We all have times when our emotions feel overwhelming, and this is nothing to be embarrassed about. Who is a trusted Christian in your life you can be honest with about what you’re feeling?

Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8 (NIV)