Thought for the day.

Emotions can seem as unpredictable as the wind and sometimes gentle and comforting, sometimes stormy and threatening, and apparently beyond our control. But we don’t have to live at the mercy of our emotions. Understanding why God gave them to us and how they work can help us engage them without being ruled by them.
Navigating our emotions can be tricky, but it’s easier if we continually review a few basics:
1. It is important to remember, that our emotions are part of how God made us to reflect His image and His values. We go together with our emotions just like sailboats and wind are meant to go together. We don’t want our boat to be sunk by the wind, but without the wind we aren’t going anywhere.
2. It is important that we learn the language of emotions. It is important to note that learning the vocabulary of emotions is like learning how to sail with a crew. To sail safely we need to be able to say, “Watch out for the boom!” or “We’re taking on water. Grab a bucket.” And it makes sailing much nicer when you can say, “Isn’t this a lovely day. I’m glad we’re here together.”
3. It is important for us to know that emotions are meant to help us to grow in loving and knowing God’s love is like having a compass heading. Even when the winds make sailing hard, if we know where we are trying to go we’ll know how to navigate them to get to our destination.
Erick Bouwmeester
#lovebeyondchurch
#lovebeyondwordsministry
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