BE HONEST – PART 4

Be Honest – Part 4

In the past three weeks I have tried to show you how our “humanness” can cloud our listening to the Holy Spirit. We have looked at jealousy, having a critical nature and selfishness.

The last question is:

Are my emotions clouding my discernment?

Our emotions have been given to us by God. We don’t want to get rid of them but we need God to help us understand them so we can trust them.

If we do get burned we might be tempted to develop a hardness of heart, putting up a wall so we won’t be hurt again.

Let’s look at the emotion of love. We are told over and over again to love our neighbours. But God wants us to love wisely. “God’s love is wide-eyed open” (page 135, Faithful Abundant and True). And knowing God’s Word will help us make wise and knowledgeable decisions. We are capable of being deceived if we rely solely on our emotions.

For example. I still have to work on my anger. Most times I have no trouble with this. But, if I am tired, stressed or rushed it can rear its ugly head so quickly that I can’t stuff it back in before it’s too late. I find this is particularly true in my relationship with my husband. For some reason he can still raise my ire. I know I shouldn’t fall into the trap – but snap – I have done it again. So I continue to pray over this one. I can see improvement. And God has shown me how to use this emotion he has given me for good – for advocacy on the part of others and to stimulate discussion in showing the heart of God in relationships.

Check yourselves – do your emotions rule your life? Or can God help you to use them wisely.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for making us the way you have. Help us to know You better so we can know ourselves more. Help us to come to You to help see whether we can trust our emotions in each situation. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

This study is based on a book called Faithful, Abundant and True with Kay Arthur, Priscilla Shirer and Beth Moore.

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail
%d