{teach me your heart}

"Our heart is not just an organ inside our chest, our heart is made up of the things we give ourselves to."

Emotion, what is it?

Emotion :: 1. strong feeling; excitement 2. a state of consciousness having to do with the arousal of feelings, distinguished from other mental states, as cognition, volition, and awareness of physical sensation 3. any specific feeling; any of various complex reactions with both mental and physical manifestations, as love, hate, fear, anger, etc.

Can an emotionless person, be a passionate person?

What is passion?

Passion :: 1.any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.
2. a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything. 3. an outburst of strong emotion or feeling.

Conclusion - one cannot have passion without emotion.

What do we see of emotion in the Bible?
Hannah - asking a son - 1 Sam 1:16-17 "Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief." Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him." (God does not despise her for her emotion)

David's conversations with God - Psalms 118:5-6 "In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (The whole book is raw humanity & emotions)

Jesus, when he prayed in Gethsemane - Luke 22:43-44 "An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." (deep emotions)

Rom 12:15 "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." (command to feel emotion)

Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Galatians 5:16-24 "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions..."

Proverbs 16:32 "Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city."

Proverbs 29:11 "A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back."

.

I have often been told that I am emotional person. My response is generally, "What woman isn't?" But as of late, God has been bringing to my attention how much quicker I am to trust my emotions, than to trust Him. I began to wonder whether or not emotions are bad...should I try to become a more unfeeling person? I know it is possible, I have just never desired to try. Should I give up my passion and strong feelings for things to be more balanced, and "stable". That seems so boring. But are my emotions destructive? I know they have been, oh yes...they definitely have been. Where is the balance? Do I have to give up a part of myself?

In reading verses and seeking to understand the character of God...these are my incomplete thoughts. Incomplete because I am open to correction and am still in the process of studying.

First, I believe God created emotions, not that they are a result of sin. Because we are created in the image, and likeness of God...I also believe that God has emotions. We see this best in Him becoming human for us. Jesus weeps, Jesus gets angry, He is hungry, He is tired, He loves deeply...He cries till His tears are blood. Yet, at the same time we are told by Him to keep a tight rein on our fleshly desires and to be led by the Spirit not our every whim and feeling. (Light bulb moment) Yes, God is an emotional God, yes emotions are good - even beautiful...but there must be discernment in knowing what to do with emotions, and what actions are appropriate. Where do I even begin with this? It all seems insurmountable. I think it begins with letting the Holy Spirit taking more and more control.(Maybe this is an obvious fact to most, but be patient with me, I'm learning!) His voice becoming louder than that of my internal, carnal spirit. Emotions will still remain, coming from my soul...but they will be emotions sifted through the Holy Spirit. I don't have to be a less passionate person - in fact, I should be more passionate! - Just passion driven by the right emotions. With the power of the Holy Spirit I can better handle my emotions and with sharp listening keep my emotions from being destructive. Negative emotions can be fought and conquered with the truth. The truth will only become louder if I spend more time in it and watching out for it. And the truth will only set me free if I choose to believe it.

Ultimately when my emotions are keeping me from trusting God, they are wrong. The roots have to be examined - the source of the emotion. If fear is present, then where is there room for love, or trust? If dissatisfaction is the root, then where is there room for thankfulness or hope? And how often am I hurting others in my life by being emotionally sick? How can I love when my insides are rotting? Action - daily surrender. Daily absorption in truth. Me...I should only be an expression of God. Grace, born in November of 1988 to two loving parents...Grace a girl who loves fairy tales and flowers...Grace who is full of imperfections and weaknesses...she is alive to bring Jesus to other people. To show some small facet, some small piece of Him to others. See, it is when I get caught up in myself and my own strivings that His image becomes a little more blurred, the sparkle of His presence begins to dim...

The beautiful thing is that when we find Him, we will find who we really are. But we will never find Him, until we don't care at all about who we are and we let go of ourselves.

Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I am in the process of becoming. Jesus, help me desire you.