Emotions
How do your emotions affect you?
Verse of the Day
“The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.”
Today’s Devotional
Read that verse again and see if you notice the emotion behind it. My emotions have a tendency to “burst out”, but it’s usually not an explosion of thanksgiving.
How good are you at handling your emotions?
In yesterday’s post, I challenged us to express gratitude for our emotions. We are created to have and experience emotions.
Most people think that our emotions exist to help us process events that have happened to us, whether something happened two seconds ago or two decades ago. According to David Desteno, a researcher at Northeastern University, “Emotions are not about reacting to the past, they are about the future. The reason we have emotions is to help us decide what to do next.”
When I heard him say that, I had to stop and think about it. If I am in a situation that has an irritating repetitive sound (which is one of my pet peeves), I will begin to feel frustrated and irritated. Those emotions don’t arise simply because I have been exposed to this annoyance. The irritation and frustration exist so that I can decide what to do next. Do I leave the room? Do I try to find the source of this noise and make it stop? Do I lose my temper and yell at someone? (Please note that this will absolutely not help the situation.) Do I force myself to think about how I’m feeling and maybe speak truth over myself? (You’re fine. This noise is not going to cause you any physical harm. No one ever died from simply being irritated. If this is the worst problem I have today, then this is a stellar day.)
As I gain some clarity over the purpose and function of my emotions, THEN I can start to channel them and use them for my benefit.
Have you ever heard of emotional intelligence? Emotional intelligence has three parts or components. (1) Reading another’s emotions, which involves awareness, practice, and communication. (2) Learning to keep calm no matter what’s going on. I’m assuming this takes LOTS of practice. (3) Learning how to use your emotions as tools or skills to achieve your goals.
What does any of this have to do with today’s verse or gratitude? I’m glad you asked.
There are things we can do to encourage positive emotions and lower negative emotional responses. Practicing the habit of gratitude is one of the most powerful tools we have to achieve this.
Do you realize that gratefulness is an emotion? And the daily practice of finding things to be grateful for paves the way for this very positive emotion.
Looking at today’s verse, the author of this psalm started by declaring who God is: his strength and shield. Next, he declared his trust in God. As he trusted God, God stepped in to help and he was able to see that. The response to God’s help was joy and practicing gratitude. As he did those steps, the emotion of gratefulness was so strong that he thought he would burst.
Negative emotions are going to arise because we are humans who live in a broken world with other humans. We can learn, however, how to handle our negative emotions. But positive emotions…we have to invite those into our lives. We have to practice certain things to pave the way to consistently feel positive, helpful emotions.
One more note from David DeSteno. He says that choosing to make something a habit, like what we do with New Year’s Resolutions, is great, but each habit has a very narrow focus. He says, “Most habits are focused on one narrow outcome. Building a habit to cultivate gratitude will play out in many different domains. It helps us to value the future over the present.” Gratitude will help us to achieve other goals, goals that have nothing to do with gratitude itself.
So how do you want to feel?
Today’s Gratitude Challenge 1: Since we are talking about emotions today, I want you to think of a time when you were full of joy. Write down what happened and how thankful you are for that experience. Proverbs 17:22 says that a cheerful heart is good medicine, so let’s give our souls a dose of good medicine as we relive times of joy.
Today’s Gratitude Challenge 2: Many emotions feel painful. Have ever thought about being grateful for pain? Whether it is physical pain or emotional, pain has a purpose. Pain is how we learn. Pain is often a powerful motivator for change. Pain often drives us to our knees. Looking back, what pain from the past are you grateful that you had to experience? How does that change your perspective on any pain you are currently experiencing?
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
For today, write out your declaration of who God is, your trust in Him, and how He helps you. Declare your gratitude to God.
Write out a time when you were full of joy and thank God for that experience.
How do you typically handle negative emotions?
How can you pave the way today for positive emotions?
How committed are you to being a person who consistently practices gratitude? What are you going to do about it?
Looking back, what pain from the past are you grateful that you had to experience? How does that change your perspective on any pain you are currently experiencing?