Have you ever had a day where life just seems full of discouraging things? Emotions can be tricky, especially for women, and Christian women are certainly not immune from emotional ups and downs. I sometimes find myself feeling like my life in Christ is very different from what God says it is. I know what is true, but that doesn’t mean my emotions automatically follow my head.
So, what do we do as Christians when our hearts are overwhelmed by emotions?
As I wrestled through one of those emotional days recently, I found myself reminded of God’s mercies to me. In the midst of discouraging thoughts and waves of emotion that seemed to bring to mind every sad thing possible, I had to cling to what I knew was true, how things really were—and I found myself clinging to God’s mercies.
The psalms are full of emotions—both the ups and downs. When we feel happy, it’s easy to say with the Psalmist,
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Psalm103)
But when life seems overwhelming, we need to remind ourselves of what exactly those mercies are:
“Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (vv. 2-5)
And even if we are struggling in our current circumstances to see God’s healing, His lovingkindness, His satisfying and strengthening, we can always cling to God’s foundational acts of mercy towards us:
“He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.” (vv.10-13)
God also has a way of reminding us of His love and care when we are feeling down. But we must take the reminder, and not cling to our feeling-fogged ideas when the truth of God’s love is presented.
For example, that day I was struggling with my emotions, God prompted a friend to text that she had prayed for me that morning. That text came in the middle of a particularly difficult moment, and immediately, I was confronted with God’s mercies. Not only was I reminded of His mercy in blessing me with that particular friend, I was also reminded of the love of God that prompted that text at just the moment I needed it most.
Whatever you are feeling right now, the truth remains: God is good, He is merciful, and even if He never did even one more merciful thing for you for the rest of your life, you already have more than enough reason to be grateful and to love and serve Him with your whole heart.
Dear Reader, are you struggling with your emotions today? Is there something about your life that makes it seem dismal? Do you struggle with wanting to accept the truth that God is merciful, and that He truly has been good to you? Spend some time in the passage of Scripture dearest to your heart, and remind yourself of who your God really is, and what He has done for you!
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. O God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember Thee...” Psalm 42:5-6a