Maintaining Emotional Health and Faith

Just as food and exercise are key components in maintaining a healthy physical lifestyle, of equal importance to our well-being is our emotions. In fact, Jesus’s statement to Peter spells out just how important emotional health is, not only for our overall health, but also in keeping our faith. “Simon, Simon, look out! Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32 NIV).

            This is the conversation Jesus was having with Peter when He told Peter he would deny Him three times when the soldiers came to arrest Him just before His crucifixion. Peter tried to affirm his loyalty to Jesus by telling Jesus that he would never deny Him, and that he would even go both to prison and death for Him. But, Peter let the fear of man come upon him and under pressure from that fear, he denied Jesus.

            Obviously, Peter made a wrong decision based on his emotions. I confess I have made many wrong decisions based on my emotions. However, over the years, I have found there are a few things I can do to help me maintain emotional stability, and that is what I want to share with you in this devotion.

1.      Honesty is the Key to Expressing Emotions: First of all, I had to get real and be honest

with myself. I knew I had allowed anger and hate to build up inside me, but being a “good” Christian, I thought it was wrong to have such negative emotions. I discovered that the feeling is not wrong; it was what we do with that feeling that can be wrong.

            Next on the list of honesty is being honest with God. It was such a relief of finally being honest with myself. But, confessing my honest feelings to God seemed out of reach, so I decided to keep it a secret from Him. Isn’t that a laugh! However, as I began to read the book of Psalms, I got a glimpse of how honest David was with God. He poured out anger, fear, anxiety, to name a few. One day, at the bottom of my emotional pit and a day when I was home alone, I literally screamed out, “God, I hate,” and began naming names. And with that, it was as though a dam burst inside of me that paved the way for the Lord to lead me down the road to forgiveness and learning more about how to manage my emotions.

2.      Get to the Root: Most of the time, our negative emotional responses do not just

 spring up with a current situation; they have a root that forms from our past influences in life. The most common past influences are our childhood experiences involving our parents, how we were treated in school, or religious upbringing. Sometimes a traumatic even enters into the root of how we negatively respond at any age.

3.      Keep a Journal: I discovered my best friend for talking out my emotions was my

 journal. As an event would occur, I would open up my journal, and began to pour out everything I was feeling. When the Lord would see I had poured out all the garbage, He would then show me how to respond. Journals are very therapeutic.

            Good News: After Peter’s denial of Jesus, he repented, and was forgiven and restored by our Lord and Savior. His faith began to grow in maturity, and he began speaking to thousands, bring them the Good News of the gospel. You might say, he reached a point of becoming what God created him to be.

            And that is what learning how to manage our emotional health can do for us also!

1. Are you having a hard time managing your emotional health? If so, what areas do you feel you need help in?

2. Which one of the three ways that I listed in the devotion that helped me to manage my emotions appeals to you the most?

3. Tell how your faith can be affected as Peter’s was by your negative emotions?

“Simon, Simon, look out! Satan has asked to sift you like wheat.
But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.
And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31-32 NIV)

Martha Bush

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