Managing Your Emotions

[Julie]

DAY 84

Tell God How You Feel

My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
Psalm 42:10–11

One reason we can relate to the psalms that David wrote is that he did not hesitate to tell God exactly how he felt. No matter how discouraged or fearful he was at times, he was open with God and always trusted Him to be faithful to him. He was also determined to praise God regardless of his circumstances.

I believe it was emotionally healthy for David to express to God how he really felt. It was a way of releasing his negative feelings so they couldn’t harm his inner being while he was waiting for God’s deliverance. David frequently told God how he felt or what his circumstances were and then said something like, “But I will trust God. I will praise God, who helps me.”

I would never suggest that you stuff your feelings inside and not express them. That wouldn’t be healthy. My purpose is not to encourage you to pretend everything is fine while you feel anger, sadness, or some other emotion. People who repress pain and never learn to deal with it properly eventually either explode or implode. Neither is a good choice. We don’t want to deny the existence of emotions, but we can deny them the right to rule over us.

Instead, follow David’s example and express yourself honestly to God or to a person you trust whom God wants to use. To express yourself in a godly way, always remember to put your hope in God—to praise Him and speak of His goodness and unfailing love.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for listening to me when I express my feelings. No matter how I feel, help me always to remember Your love and to praise You.

Joyce Meyer, Managing Your Emotions

 

[Julie]

DAY 85

No Competition

A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.”
Luke 22:24–25

Early in my life, I struggled with jealousy and envy. This is common among insecure people. If we are not secure about our worth and value as unique individuals, we will compare ourselves to other people and compete with anyone who appears to be successful, smart, attractive, or doing well in other ways.

One of God’s best gifts to me is that He has taught me that I am an individual with a God-ordained, unique, personal plan for my life. This has given me great joy and freedom, as I now live with the assurance that I don’t need to compete with or compare myself to anyone.

I am always encouraged that there is hope for me when I realize that the disciples wrestled with many of the same things you and I do. In today’s Scripture passage, Jesus was talking to some of His disciples as they argued about who was the “greatest.” He responded to them by saying that the greatest was actually the one willing to be a servant (Luke 22:26 AMP). In other words, He says that greatness is humility.

When we feel insecure, we view ourselves as “less than” other people. But when we are humble before God, we realize that He has made us as unique individuals, loves us unconditionally, and values us so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins so we could live in relationship with Him. And we realize we have no need to compete with anyone else.



Prayer: Help me, Lord, to see myself as You see me—precious, unique, and valuable. Help me break free from insecurity and walk in humility before You and others.

Joyce Meyer, Managing Your Emotions

 

[Julie]

DAY 86

Hopeful Expectation


But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31

Today’s scripture is a well-known verse about waiting on the Lord. We may think this means waiting on God in terms of allowing time to pass while we trust Him to move in our lives in a certain way, perhaps as an answer to prayer or to fulfill a promise in His Word. But the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition of the first part of this verse gives us important insight into what it really means: “But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]” (italics mine). When we understand waiting this way, we see that it is active, not passive.

To wait on God is to expect and trust Him to do what we need Him to do, to look for Him to work in a situation, and to hope in Him. This kind of waiting leads us to spend time with Him in His Word and in His presence. We don’t worry while we wait on God; we don’t get frustrated or upset while we wait on God. We don’t question or try to figure things out in our minds, allowing our thoughts to go places they don’t need to go. We rest. And we go about our lives with a sense of hopeful expectation.

Being able to wait with hopeful expectation is a sign of spiritual maturity. When we do have to wait on something, we can relax in God’s presence. As we wait on Him, our strength is renewed, as today’s scripture promises.


Prayer: Lord, help me to wait actively, not passively, with hopeful expectation as I look for You to work in my life.


Joyce Meyer, Managing Your Emotions

 

[Julie]

DAY 87

How Do You Feel about Yourself?

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10


When we think of managing our emotions, we usually think about how we feel about a situation or another person. We don’t often think about managing the way we feel about ourselves. But we all have a relationship with ourselves, and we have certain ways we feel about who we are. We may be happy with ourselves, but we may also be angry with ourselves or ashamed of ourselves at times. We may feel frustrated about certain aspects of our personality, our appearance, or our abilities. Some people feel undesirable, while others feel they are wonderful. Our emotions about ourselves can be varied and fickle, just as our feelings about circumstances or other people can change.

The way we feel about ourselves influences what we can accomplish in life. This is one reason that growing in emotional stability is so important. If we feel courageous and strong, we approach things with confidence. If we feel negative, we have low expectations of ourselves, and we tend to meet them.

If you feel bad about yourself, let me encourage you today. First, remember today’s scripture and realize that God has a plan for your life. He’s designed that plan especially for you and created you to succeed in it. Second, remember that you are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). God has made you special and unique. Third, remember that, according to Philippians 4:13, you can do all things through Christ, who strengthens you. Let these truths lead you to feel great about yourself and to be confident that you can do whatever God calls you to do.


Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for creating me just the way You want me to be. Help me to feel good about myself and confident that I can do everything I need to do through Christ, who gives me strength.



Joyce Meyer, Managing Your Emotions

 

[Julie]

DAY 88

Use Your Mouth to Boost Your Mood

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.
Philippians 2:14–15

In today’s Scripture passage, Paul instructs us to do all things without complaining or arguing. In the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition, verse 14 states that we are to “do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [against God] and questioning and doubting” among ourselves.

When you have a bad day or encounter trials and difficulties, you have a choice to make. You can grumble, complain, and feel resentful, or you can decide to remain joyful and peaceful, speaking words of praise and worship to God. Anyone can be grumpy and complain when they don’t like their circumstances, but as followers of Christ, we are called to live differently. We are called to be overcomers, and part of overcoming is maintaining a good attitude and using our words to speak positively when everything is not as we would like it to be.

If the people around us know we are Christians, yet we murmur and complain like everyone else, we weaken our witness to them, and we don’t shine the light of God’s love to them, as today’s scripture mentions. To be good witnesses, we need to resist the temptation to complain. Can you get through one day without complaining about anything? Can I? I admit that I have not arrived at the place of perfection yet, but I have made progress over the years and will keep pressing toward God’s will.

You and I can use our words to boost our moods. Even if we feel cranky, if we refuse to complain and instead begin to speak positive, uplifting words, we’ll find ourselves feeling better soon.



Prayer: Lord, help me to use my mouth to speak positively instead of complaining.

Joyce Meyer, Managing Your Emotions