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Dec 19, 2024 18:00pm

What Now?: Emotions

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The following comes from the devotional book “What Now?” by Ashley Akers. To learn more, go to www.whatnowdevo.com.

Emotions

Have you ever felt like your emotions were like a roller coaster ride? Feelings can change in an instant from happy to sad and then back to being glad again. For example, you could be fighting with a person one minute and then the phone rings and you answer it with a smile on your face and a warm tone as if you didn’t have a care in the world.

Vacations can be stressful for me. Feeling the sense of responsibility to make sure things go as planned and nothing gets left at the hotel can put me on edge. On a particular trip, everyone was tired, and my husband was also on edge from me being stressed. I would love to relax, but I just can’t seem to make it happen. Even though I have help, I feel like I must get everything done on my own which leads to frustration. This reminds me of a story in the Bible about Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42.

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

I imagine that emotions were running high for Martha that day. She was upset that Mary wasn’t helping her like she thought she should, and she voiced her frustrations to Jesus. In this Scripture I can sense the patience Jesus had with Martha—He had to say her name twice. What He was about to say had great importance and we should pay attention as well. Jesus knew that she was frustrated, and He gave her the solution: Himself. This was not a suggestion or an opinion, but a necessity.

As we headed home from that vacation, I realized my teenage son seemed stressed as well. I made him sit in the back of the vehicle with me and I told him that we both needed some Jesus time. Sharing headphones, we listened to a sermon podcast and a sense of calmness came over that back seat. When the sermon ended, he proceeded to tell me how his stress went away. It was a complete change in us both. I told him that our actions changed because we sought Jesus when our emotions were high. We can’t depend on our emotions, because they are always changing.

We can trust the unchanging Word of God. Due to the vacation, I had not read my Bible in 3 days. I was vulnerable. The Bible is our sword against the enemy’s schemes and if we aren’t reading it, we are much more susceptible to his attacks. We might begin to act out on our ever-changing emotions if we aren’t grounded in God’s Word. Just as Mary was soaking in everything that Jesus was saying, we should do the same. Read God’s Word. Meditate on it. Soak it in. And be amazed at how your emotional roller coaster becomes much more relaxed. Enjoy the ride.

Reflection Questions

1. How would you describe your cycle of emotions? Like a roller coaster, small hills or flat land?

2. Do you currently read your Bible? If so, how often?

3. Does reading your Bible calm your emotions?