WEDNESDAY'S WEEKLY WORD..."Feeling Frenzy"

In last week's

YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL,

I polled the readers on the following,

"What describes the emotion you are feeling now?"

The top 3 responses were:

52% of those polled said they were CONTENT.
21% of the readers felt FRUSTRATED.
10% voted and said they were DEPRESSED.

EMOTIONS ARE POWERFUL!

• DEPRESSION can paralyze us...
• LAUGHTER can lift us up...
• JOY takes us to new heights...

In the original STAR TREK series, Mr. Spock tried to learn the mystery of human emotions. He found out that emotions can make us great, but at the same time weak.

~Joy adds energy, while depression saps us!

~Hope motivates, while sadness deflates us!

Most of what we do, we do because of emotion! We all experience different kinds of emotion!

DAVID experienced different types of emotion. In fact, he was frequently depressed and he wrote many of the psalms during periods of stress.

PSALM 6:6-7 "I am weary from my groaning; with tears I dampen my pillow and drench my bed every night. My eyes are swollen from grief; they grow old because of all my enemies."

When David was in exile in the desert running from Saul and later running from his own Son, Absalom, David was alone in his grief. He did not have his best friend (Jonathan) with him to be an encouragement. David prayed, and God kept his grief from overwhelming him. When David prayed he was able to see hope in God.

While it is true that David experienced depression, he also experienced joy!

PSALM 21:1-3 "The king shall have your joy in Your strength, O Lord; and in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! (2) You have given him his heart's desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. (Selah) (3) For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold upon his head."

David was strengthened thru the expression of his joy. JOY is what people are seeking. They seek joy in their relationships. They seek joy in their career choices. They seek joy in life!

EMPATHY...People are looking for empathy whether they realize it or not.

ROMANS 12:15 "Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep."

Empathy is the ability to understand someone else's grief or share in their joy. If we want to be the kind of Christian that helps others, we need to understand emotions.

A "Don't worry, be happy" philosophy is not adequate enough for us to take. True encouragement comes from two sources: empathy and hope. In my study of Proverbs, I learned three things about emotions:

1. EMOTION IS HIDDEN...

It may be difficult to share empathy with someone if they keep their emotions hidden. Solomon reminds us of this: "Even in laughter a heart may be sad" (Prov. 14:13). People may hide their emotions for different reasons. One reason may be that they do not want people to know about a problem in their life. Another reason may be that they do not like to show emotion in front of others.

How can you help people when they hide emotions?.... Be a good friend and build trust in your relationship.

2. EMOTIONS CHANGE LIKE THE WIND...

Emotions cannot be the basis of our lives and actions. Just like the wind changes course, so does the circumstances in our lives. Feelings such as joy should not be dependent on our circumstances. Solomon warned us, "Joy may end in grief" (14:13), emotions usually are a result of circumstances but what a blessing to know that God does not change even when our circumstances do!

3. EMOTIONS ARE INFLUENTIAL...

Depression, grief and hopelessness will rot the bones, break the spirit and make it difficult to survive. Stress can cause heart problems and shorten our life. Depression can weaken our immune system. Physical effects of emotion are real and have been medically proven.

There is a much better way to cope with the changing winds of emotion. The hope that joy brings will affect us not only spiritually but physically ~

~It makes our faces glad!~ PROVERBS 15:13 "A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken."

~It gives health to our bodies!~PROVERBS 14:30 "A sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones."

~It strengthens our bones!~ PROVERBS 15:30 "The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and a good report makes the bones healthy."

~It sustains us when we are sick!~PROVERBS 18:14 "The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness. but who can bear a broken spirit?"

If you are seeking to have more strength in your emotions, strive to keep your emotions healthy and seek to help others who are hurting. To balance out your emotions, you may try keeping a emotional journal. Keep track of your different emotions, who you are with at the time you experience these emotions and if circumstances have triggered your emotion. Ask God to help you to walk in His power when circumstances change, and walk in the joy of the Lord!

I have been studying the book of PROVERBS, it is my prayer that this week's devotion will encourage you in Gods Word. I will conclude this study next week and begin a in depth study of the book of Colossians. Won't you join me by taking a closer look at Gods Word?

YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL: Please take time to vote in this week's poll. It is asking about your listening habits. Find the poll on the side bar of this blog. THANKS. YOUR OPINION MATTERS!!