WHEN EMOTIONS SQUELCH YOUR FAITH

“Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish.”

Psalm 25:17

Here’s the thing. I’m a gal. I get emotional. Gals, we get emotional. And you know we get more emotional on some days than others. Today, I want to encourage you…

Note your tears. Note what brings them on. Note was causes them.

Then take them to the Lord.

You see, I used to think being emotional was this horrible, very bad, not godly thing. But then I started paying attention to what brings the tears: those holy, magical water drops that just sometimes need to flow.

Often, my tears come from deeply rooted fears.

Or passions stirring deep.

Or desires for good, God things.

Or over sin in my own heart that’s ugly and that I’ve had it with.

Or frustration at my own inability to truly trust the God who has been with me since I was a little girl in pigtails.

Or because this dreaming with God thing involves waiting, surrendering, waiting, surrendering, and more waiting and surrender…and some days…it’s really hard.

Or because this dancing thing…no one teaches you how to let it go…they only teach you how to fall in love with it.

Or this parenting thing…no one can prepare you for how much you will love your children, and how much it can twist and stretch your heart.

Or this marriage thing…often I am emotional because some days I don’t feel  like I am doing a good job at being the wife I want to be.

Tears…we tend to think they’re a bad thing.

But here’s the other thing…

Tears lead us to the feet of the One who takes our tears, washes our face, lifts our head, and invites us to curl up in His lap to comfort us. And when we do…when we look up and let the tears go on and fall, here’s what we find…

He takes our tears and pours them back as grace-filled Living Water.

He washes us with His Living Water when we come broken, when we realize we can’t do and be all the things we want to do and be on our own. When we realize we need help.

This picture today reminds me of something to remember when I feel like my emotions are squelching my faith:

THE SON IS ALWAYS BEHIND ME. HIS LIGHT IS ALWAYS THERE. THE RAYS OF HIS LOVE ARE ALWAYS NEAR. HIS LIGHT IS MY BACKGROUND. HIS LIGHT IS MY FOCUS. HIS LIGHT IS ALL AROUND ME.

And when we remember that, we can rest. We can enjoy life as the adventure God made it to be. So today, if you’re in that emotional spot that we all go to on certain days, hang on…

HIS LIGHT WILL SHINE IN YOUR HEART AGAIN.