Managing Your Emotions

[Julie]

DAY 73

How Do You Want to Live?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22–23

When we are born again (2 Corinthians 5:17), we receive a new nature, which wants to follow and please God. But this doesn’t replace our old sinful nature, which wants to indulge our selfish, self-centered, fleshly desires with the things of the world. The two natures exist side by side and are in conflict with each other. The strongest one always wins.

In Galatians 5, Paul characterizes this as a battle between the works of the flesh (the old nature) and the fruit of the Holy Spirit (the new nature). The more you feed your spirit the Word of God, the stronger it will become, and vice versa.

Works of the flesh are listed in Galatians 5:19–21, and you can read about the fruit of the Spirit in today’s scripture passage. When you consider the emotions involved in the works of the flesh and those produced as we walk in the Spirit, which way do you want to live?

I recommend focusing on walking in the Spirit rather than trying not to walk in the flesh. Paul says, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

I spent many years trying not to walk in the flesh. But I later realized that if I focused more on walking in the Spirit than on not walking in the flesh, there would be no room for the flesh. Only then did I begin to make progress. Hopefully this advice will help you cease striving to avoid the works of the flesh and empower you to live in the fruit of the Spirit.

Prayer: Help me, Lord, to abandon the works of the flesh by focusing on walking in the Spirit.


Joyce Meyer, Managing Your Emotions

 

[Julie]

Day 74

Practice Patience

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
Exodus 32:1

The Israelites mentioned in today’s scripture didn’t like waiting for Moses to come back to them after meeting with God. They became so impatient that they demanded something visible to worship. They refused to wait on God and ended up worshipping a useless golden calf that resulted from the work of their own hands.

Impatience is a negative feeling we need to avoid. It causes a lot of stress. The simple truth is that we all have to wait on things we desire, so we might as well learn to wait patiently. The fruit of patience is in us as children of God, but we have to use self-control for it to manifest (Galatians 5:22–23). The flesh is naturally impatient, but thankfully it can be controlled and retrained.

One of the best ways to be patient is to keep your mind focused on what you are currently doing. Don’t be so focused on the destination that you fail to enjoy the journey. We live in a fast-paced society where everything moves quickly, and we can easily get caught up in the cycle of hurrying. But this is not good for us because it often puts us on edge emotionally. The slightest imposition or inconvenience can cause us to explode in frustration or anger.

Let’s practice keeping our emotions calm and having a patient attitude with situations, people, and ourselves. Most of all, let’s be patient with God when we are waiting on Him to do something we have asked Him to do. God has a perfect timing for all things, and He will not be rushed, so settle down and enjoy the wait.


Joyce Meyer, Managing Your Emotions

 

[Julie]

DAY 74

Practice Patience

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
Exodus 32:1

The Israelites mentioned in today’s scripture didn’t like waiting for Moses to come back to them after meeting with God. They became so impatient that they demanded something visible to worship. They refused to wait on God and ended up worshipping a useless golden calf that resulted from the work of their own hands.

Impatience is a negative feeling we need to avoid. It causes a lot of stress. The simple truth is that we all have to wait on things we desire, so we might as well learn to wait patiently. The fruit of patience is in us as children of God, but we have to use self-control for it to manifest (Galatians 5:22–23). The flesh is naturally impatient, but thankfully it can be controlled and retrained.

One of the best ways to be patient is to keep your mind focused on what you are currently doing. Don’t be so focused on the destination that you fail to enjoy the journey. We live in a fast-paced society where everything moves quickly, and we can easily get caught up in the cycle of hurrying. But this is not good for us because it often puts us on edge emotionally. The slightest imposition or inconvenience can cause us to explode in frustration or anger.

Let’s practice keeping our emotions calm and having a patient attitude with situations, people, and ourselves. Most of all, let’s be patient with God when we are waiting on Him to do something we have asked Him to do. God has a perfect timing for all things, and He will not be rushed, so settle down and enjoy the wait.


Prayer: God, I repent for the times I let feelings of impatience control my attitudes. Help me stay calm and patient as I wait on You and Your perfect timing.


Joyce Meyer, Managing Your Emotions

 

[Julie]

DAY 75

How to Avoid Frustration

So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
Zechariah 4:6

Have you ever been frustrated because you were doing everything you knew to do in a situation, but nothing worked? I believe we all have. After years of being frustrated most of the time, I finally learned I was placing too much trust in myself and my own efforts and not enough in God.

As Christians, we often think we should be doing or achieving something. But if that were true, we would be called “achievers” instead of “believers.” We are responsible for doing certain things, but many of us go far beyond our God-given responsibility and try to do things only God can do.

What needs to be accomplished in our lives won’t happen in our own strength; it will be done by the Spirit of God as we place our trust in Him. The Holy Spirit enables us to do what we need to do, and He does what we cannot do. We are partners with God; He has a part, and we have a part. Our part is to trust God and do whatever He leads us to do. His part is to work on our behalf and accomplish what needs to be done in our lives. God will not do our part, and we can’t do His part. This is an important lesson to learn if we want to avoid frustration.

When I feel frustrated, I know I have slipped into trying to make things happen by my own efforts and stopped fully trusting God. As soon as I get my trust back where it belongs, which is in God and not in myself, I start to feel relaxed again.


Prayer: Lord, I commit to do my part, and I trust You to do what only You can do by Your Spirit.

Joyce Meyer, Managing Your Emotions

 

[Julie]

DAY 76

A New Way of Living

Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].
2 Corinthians 5:17

According to today’s scripture, when we place our faith in Jesus, the way we once were passes away, and we have all the equipment we need for a brand-new way of living. God gives us the ability to think and act in ways that please Him, and He offers to help us. But we aren’t puppets, and He won’t manipulate us. We must choose spirit over flesh and right over wrong. When we become new on the inside, we can choose to allow our renewed inner being to influence what we think, say, and do on the outside.

Biblical writers often use the term the flesh when referring to a combination of the body, mind, emotions, and will. In Scripture, the word carnal often is used to describe people who live by the flesh, which some Christians do. Carnal Christians believe in God and have received Jesus as their Savior, but their lives appear to revolve largely around themselves, the desires of their flesh, and the impulses of their emotions. But feelings are often unreliable and untrustworthy when making decisions.

It’s nice to have feelings to support us when we make choices, but we can follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and obey God with or without the fuel of feelings. You may have a habit of following your feelings in order to stay happy and comfortable, but you can also form new habits. Develop the habit of enjoying good emotions without letting them influence your decisions in negative ways.

Prayer: Lord, when I need to make a decision, help me remember that I am a new creation and have the ability to follow Your Spirit and not my emotions

Joyce Meyer, Managing Your Emotions

 

[Julie]

DAY 77

Keep Your Hopes Up

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23

One way to manage the negative emotions of discouragement and despair, which we all feel at times, is to follow the advice of today’s scripture and “hold unswervingly” to the hope we have in Christ. We hear the word hope often in secular settings, but godly hope has a different quality than worldly hope.

Many times, when people say they hope something will or will not happen, they are vaguely hoping, but clearly doubting. They speak negatively about their circumstances and then wonder why things don’t go well for them. True biblical hope is a solid foundation, a springboard for our faith to take off from and actually take hold of the promises of God. When we have godly hope, we speak and think positively, not negatively.

This may sound simple, but I believe real hope is a constant positive attitude that says No matter what is happening currently, things will change for the better. Satan cannot defeat a person who refuses to stop hoping in God. Hope is powerful. It opens the door for the impossible to become possible. All things are possible with God (Matthew 19:26), but we must cooperate with Him by staying hopeful and full of faith.

Being hopeless does no good. It only makes us unhappy, critical, and grouchy. Hopelessness leads to depression and many other problems. But because we belong to God and, as today’s verse reminds us, He is faithful, we can choose to be hopeful in every situation. Be the kind of person who refuses to be negative, and believe things will get better.

Prayer: God, I believe and declare that You are faithful, and I choose today to hope unswervingly in You.

Joyce Meyer, Managing Your Emotions

 

[Julie]

DAY 78

Making Wise Choices

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
Romans 7:15

Have you ever said or done something in a moment of intense emotion and then said, “I can’t believe that I just behaved that way”? Have you ever felt shocked or perhaps embarrassed about your words or actions? We’ve all had this experience. Even the apostle Paul, who wrote today’s scripture, struggled to do the things he knew he should do and not do the things he shouldn’t.

Without God’s help we have difficulty doing things in moderation. We may eat too much, spend too much, entertain ourselves too much, or say too much. When we give in to excess, we feel like doing something so we do it, giving no thought to the consequences. Later, we regret it.

We don’t have to live in regret. The Holy Spirit enables us to make wise choices. He urges us, guides us, and leads us, but we still have to cast the deciding vote. If you have been casting an unhealthy or foolish vote, all you need to do is change it. Make a decision not to do what you feel like doing unless it agrees with God’s will.

Wise choices have nothing to do with feelings. You do not have to feel a certain way to choose to make good decisions. Making wise choices isn’t always easy, but it is much better than suffering the consequences of a foolish decision. Even when something is not easy, through Christ we can choose to have a positive attitude because we know we are using wisdom in our lives.

Prayer: Help me, God, to follow Your Holy Spirit and make wise choices.

Joyce Meyer, Managing Your Emotions

 

[Julie]

DAY 79

Fear Has No Power over You

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9

God called Joshua to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land. This was a big job, and before sending him out to do it, He told him not to be afraid. For us to understand what God was really saying to Joshua, we need to understand the meaning of the word fear.

Over the years I’ve studied a lot about fear. To fear means “to take flight” or “to run from.” It’s also defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief (thought) of harm or pain. A full definition of fear involves more than these ideas, but let’s focus today on the fact that to fear is to run away from something due to an unpleasant emotion or feeling that we may suffer or be harmed.

If we view fear as running away from something, we can see that God was not telling Joshua not to feel fear. Instead, He was warning him that he would feel fear, and that when he felt afraid, he was not to flee because He (God) would be with him.
Understanding that we can feel fear and move forward anyway has been life-changing for me and for many other people. We do not need to wait for feelings of fear to go away, because they may never disappear. But we can do what we want to do or feel God wants us to do even if we feel afraid. Because of this, fear has no power over us.

Prayer: Lord, help me understand fear so I can move forward and live in victory over it even when I feel afraid.


Joyce Meyer, Managing Your Emotions

 

[Julie]

DAY 80

Roots and Fruits

Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers.
Luke 6:44

Trees are known and identified by their fruit, and people are much the same way. If you could look at the roots of the life of a person who is emotionally unhealthy, you would see that they lead to things like rejection, abuse, guilt, jealousy, shame, and other negative thoughts and feelings.

If you have recognized unhealthy attitudes in yourself, they are most likely the bitter fruit of something rooted in your thinking. They may have come from unhealthy or traumatic experiences during childhood or from being exposed to bad examples in your early years. If parents, teachers, or other authority figures told you during your youth that you were no good, that there was something wrong with you, that you couldn’t do anything right, and that you were worthless and would never amount to anything, you might actually believe it.

Research has shown that when people believe something about themselves strongly enough, they actually begin to behave the way they perceive themselves. They will think, feel, and act according to what they have experienced or been told.

But I have good news: Your mind can be renewed by God’s Word (Romans 12:2). This does not happen immediately or even quickly. It may take a while, but it is possible with the help of the Holy Spirit, and it is worth the time it takes.

God wants you to bear good fruit, and He will help you do so by replacing unhealthy roots with strong, healthy roots in your thoughts, emotions, and actions as you meditate on His Word.

Prayer: God, as I meditate on Your Word, help me replace roots that lead to unhealthy thinking, feelings, and behaviors with ones that lead to healthy thoughts, emotions, and actions.

Joyce Meyer, Managing Your Emotions

 

[Julie]

DAY 81

No Shame


Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
Isaiah 54:4

Shame is a condition that affects our emotions in powerful ways. It can cause us to feel embarrassed about who we are and inferior to other people. It can make us fearful for others to know us as we truly are, and it can hinder our ability to engage in intimate relationships. Thankfully, God can heal us from the shame we have experienced and from the emotional impact it has had on us.

According to today’s scripture, the Lord promises to remove shame and dishonor from us to the point that we will forget it. In fact, God has promised that in their place He will pour out upon us a double portion of blessing. We will possess double what we have lost, and we will have everlasting joy (Isaiah 61:7).

If you struggle with shame, ask the Lord to work a healing miracle in your mind and emotions. Let Him come in and fulfill what He came to do: heal your broken heart, bind up your wounds, proclaim your freedom, give you joy in place of mourning, and clothe you with a garment of praise instead of “a disheartened spirit,” so you will be called a tree of righteousness, strong and magnificent, and in right standing with God (Isaiah 61:1–3 AMP).

As God heals you, your spiritual roots will go deep in the love of Christ, who, by His sacrifice on the cross, has broken the power of sin and guilt, cleansed you, healed you, forgiven you, and set you free to live a new life of health and wholeness. When you find your life in Him, you have no shame.

Prayer: Thank You, God, for completely setting me free from shame and the way it has affected me emotionally. Help me always to remember that there is no shame in You.


Joyce Meyer, Managing Your Emotions