Does Being A Christian Mean You Have No Emotions?

People are instinctively needy. Physically, socially and emotionally. I think the deepest need though is of our soul. Thankfully Jesus is rich in glory and can and wants to satisfy that.

The last 10 months were the most painful months of my entire life. I felt defeated and my spirit was struck. The hurt was nothing less then bone deep and would constrict my ability to think and even breath.

I was told you can’t live in your emotions! I struggled with that. It was the last thing I wanted hear when my heart was heavy and its pain was rippling through my body. I love people deeply. I love people with out any self regard and when you love deeply you hurt deeply. So in that moment emotion is all there was. I couldn’t help but feel like the most amazing Christian people I knew had no feelings at all and it made me feel even more numb. Is that what it meant to be a true follower? To have no emotions.

When I heard these things I was sobered by my own feelings and pain as it reflected my weakness and showed the condition of my heart. I could no longer see the difference between my pain and my true self. I begged God to bring back my hearts song.

After a constant wrestle with myself and the anger I felt towards myself for having these emotions I dug deep into God’s word to see what I was missing because I know God’s truth. I have always known how he abundantly blesses me and how undeserving I am. I also know my pain was nothing in comparison to what Jesus went through on the cross for my salvation but I still struggled with it.

God wants us to love deeply because that means we are showing empathy, compassion and we can offer forgiveness and grace.

Our emotions are no different and are as certain as the sand on the beach. Always being blown, kicked or moved back and forth. They are easily changed by people or circumstances. This is where the failure comes in when trying to trust them.

Imagine what humans would be like if we never became emotional. Or if we were capable of controlling them at all times. We would strictly work on logic and be perhaps like robots. It is good to have emotions, even strong ones. The Bible has many stories of emotions. Like Esther’s courage to tell the king Haman’s murderous plot. Jesus himself displayed anger when he overturned the tables of those profiting at the temple. Probably the most touching one is Saul turned Paul who started out hating Jesus and all Christians until he had an encounter with the risen savior that changed his hatred to love and Paul became one the most beloved apostles in the Bible.

God created us in his image and God’s emotions are revealed in Scripture there for God himself was an emotional being. We feel happiness, love, anger, guilt, disappointment and fear along with many others. However God wants his love to be shared through us and have our emotions less about having it our way.

There will be times for all emotional reactions. There will be seasons in life when we feel calm that comes from God’s peace which passes all understanding (Phil 4:7) and there will be seasons when we feel life can be so meaningless (Phil 1:2). But our emotions shouldn’t be what moves us or determines what’s right in a decision because that can lead us to sin. God’s word is what should guide us and what we should trust and obey.

Ecclesiastes 3:1,3-4 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:… a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

So I’ve learned that to live life and to be in relationships is to be vulnerable. You never know if things will work out for the best or if relationships will fall short over time. All we can do is have faith, seek God’s word have courage and when we need to and be honest. There is peace knowing Christ is with us through every thing.

Philippians’s 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

I’ve learned to see all the little miracles God so graciously gives us and the ways he shows up – all the time. Like receiving the name of the one who would give you life saving council long before you ever knew you were going to need it. Or how I was in the store the other week and worry just overcame me. As I was heading to the register I said “God please give me a sign everything is going to be ok”. I kept walking and as I looked to my right I saw a little boy waving with so much enthusiasm and joy filled eyes. I looked around to see who he was waving to but no one was around. He was waving to me! That was God! I smiled and waved back praising the Lord for being faithful.

I was told to keep moving forward. Somedays I moved a mile and somedays I could only bear to take a half of step… but I moved.

Like in Psalm 56: 3-4 that is how I went from I have fear to I shall not fear.

I am a Christian and emotional… and thats ok.