Psalm 33:13-15 says, 'The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race. From his throne he observes all who live on the earth. He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do.'
Psalm 34: 4-5 makes it clear that God frees of us from all our fears, and that 'no shadow of shame' will darken the faces of those who look to him.
Psalm 37: 7 tells us to 'be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.'
These verses have been like running commentaries in my mind the last couple of weeks. Through personal experience these verses have taken up residence in my heart, so I just thought I'd share what I've learned from them.
Number 1: God understands our emotions because he made them. It's easy to miss the importance of such truth in a world where, as Christians, we are often admonished against certain feelings. We call them 'negative'. But if God understands the wiring of our hearts, doesn't he also understand why we short-circuit or blow fuses from time to time? Isn't this for a reason? If I'm having problems with my car do I stare at it, scold it, and continue driving it as is? Of course not, I take it to a trustworthy mechanic who understands its in's and out's and is capable of restoring it. Why then do I so often reprimand myself for my emotions and try to push them aside? Emotions are human, I don't care who you are, they are universal. And if I will only be brave enough to feel them, face them, and take them to the One who created me, he promises to fix me. Like the mechanic, I don't know how long it will take....but he WILL fix it.
Number 2: Healing takes patience and pain. (The suffering of Christ is a great example) Denial of our emotions is often accompanied by a quick-fix mentality. 'God, this hurts, please take it away now,' or 'God, I understand what the problem is and why it hurts, so can we skip to the next lesson now?'. I've come to believe that a great part of being patient for the Lord to act in regards to our emotions means soaking them in. Do you feel pain, joy, sadness, exhaustion? Then let them be what they are. Certainly it may not be fun, but patience brings great reward.
Number 3: These things we call emotions, affects, feelings...whether good or bad...they are always temporary. What a relief!
