Coronavirus - Understanding Our Emotions

Emotions, the Window to the Heart During this first full week of quarantine here in Spain there have been several moments that stick out in my mind. One is walking to the grocery store and the bank near my home, wearing my mask and seeing the almost silent streets. The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect and there was almost no one outside. I understood the reason but it still felt very odd. Another memorable moment was talking with one of the doctors from our church who is working directly with coronavirus patients. Hearing how some doctors are on 36 hours shifts and at times lacking the quality masks and safety gowns that they need. He told how he even partially quarantined himself at home by sleeping in a different room and using a separate bathroom than his family. A third experience comes to mind. Maybe some of you experienced it as well. At the appointed hour in the evening we opened our windows and began to clap and cheer for the medical workers who are serving the city of Madrid in the face of the virus. My family stopped our cheering for a moment and just listened and from every direction we could hear cheering, clapping, horns honking. It was encouraging. Even though we were all confined to our homes and our own solitary spaces in that moment there was unity, solidarity in the midst of the struggle. All of these memories shared one important thing. They stirred the heart. That is why they stuck in my mind. They were more than just facts of the moment, they brought emotion with them. I would guess that in the midst of this Coronavirus we have all experienced different sorts of emotions. Some have been good and some bad. Some fear for their health, while others fear for their finances. Others are happy to work from home in their pajamas while others are becoming angry because their children are irritating them when they are trying to get their work done at home. Others are worried about the unknown future while others are experiencing joy as they share meaningful times with their family. “The late Dag Hammarskjold, once the secretary general of the United Nations, suggested that we have become adept at exploring outer space, but we have not developed similar skills in exploring our own personal inner spaces.” Many of us have learned to master money, computers, business, management or the skills of our job, but we are novices when it comes to understanding what is going on inside of us. Emotions are the outer expression of what is really happening on the inside of us at the deepest levels of our hearts. As other have stated, emotions are the window to our souls. If we could sit down and watch a video of our lives for the last week, what would our emotions tell us about the priorities of our hearts? In one moment, we rejoice in the praises of God, but later our same heart will rage with anger against our mate or children. Our emotions drive us to heroic deeds and then drive us to ruin. At times they call us to join the apostle Paul when he states in Romans 7:15,18-19, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. . . For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” God gave us emotions, so there must be a way for us to honor God with our emotions. But how? When studying the Bible we don’t see one specific chapter that talks about “emotions,” but we do see emotions all throughout scripture. God’s Word teaches us about anger, joy, worry, sadness, loneliness, and much more. Some stories in scripture show us emotions that praised God and others are pictures of what people felt when they rebelled against God. If we are wanting to get a good understanding of emotions the place to start is by looking at the life of Jesus. As we look at the life of Jesus let’s keep this question in mind. How do we discern which of our emotions are righteous and which are sinful? In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus is asked which is the greatest commandment. Jesus responds, ”‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” In these words we see that all the commandments of scripture are applications of two commandments. Love God and love people. These are the clearest guides for us concerning whether our emotions are righteous are sinful. Let’s look at Jesus for a clearer picture of this idea. In the life of Christ we see the full range of emotions. In Christ we see weeping at the tomb of Lazarus. We see anger as he chases the “thieves” out of the temple. We see patience with His disciples, compassion with the children, mercy with the woman caught in adultery, and joy as His reason for enduring the cross. Every emotion that was displayed in the life of Christ was an expression of loving God and loving people. His emotions were never self-serving. They were never manipulating. They were always in some way an extension of His love for us and His understanding of the reality of walking with the Father. He is our example of living life to the fullest with God-honoring emotions. If we want to know if our emotions are righteous or sinful we look to see if they are an expression of a love for God and for others, or if they are an expression of loving ourselves. Are we celebrating the type of things that bring God joy? Are our hearts broken about the type of things that bring God sadness? Are we feeling emotions because we are concerned about others? Or Are we angry because someone else is succeeding instead of us? Are we excited because we won the argument even though we humiliated the other person in the process? Are we worried all the time because we have chosen not to believe everything that God has promised? One way to know if our emotions towards people are righteous or sinful is to ask the question, “Are they an expression of my love for God and for others, or are they an expression of us loving ourselves?” This question will serve to search our hearts and cause us to pause and evaluate what we are truly loving in the moment. Our emotions are not only affected by what we love, but also by what we believe about ourselves, our world and most importantly our God. We see this clearly lived out in the life of King David in the Old Testament. David was a passionate and at times very emotional man. He was a king and a warrior, but also a musician and a poet. At the same time he was a man of great faith. At times his emotions seem to totally ignore his situation. As a boy he fought the giant Goliath and seemed to have no fear. As a young adult he often fled from a jealous King Saul to save his own life, but we never see a sense of revenge. It was as if he was living in a different reality. His emotions often did the unexpected. The unseen realities of God were more real than the seen situations that he found himself in. As David walked with God, God became David’s dominant reality and his emotions respond accordingly. It is the same for us as well. Yes, we have different temperaments and come from different families and cultures, but our experience with God and faith in God play a huge part in determining what role our emotions play in our lives. Emotions are meant to be submitted to the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives. Our emotions are to follow, not to lead. . . Our emotions, like our minds and bodies, are influenced greatly by the fall of mankind into sin. In other words, our emotions are tainted by our sin nature, and that is why they need controlling. The Bible tells us we are to be controlled by the Holy Spirit (Romans 6; Ephesians 5:15–18; 1 Peter 5:6–11), not by our emotions. We are transformed through the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:1–2) and the power of the Holy Spirit—the One who produces in us self-control (Galatians 5:23). God gave emotions for good reason but they must be submitted to the Spirit and the reality of God.  As one reads the book of Psalms he can see David’s emotions but they are accompanied by a strong sense of his belief in God. It is not that David didn’t have emotions, but they were tethered to a foundation of faith that kept them from running too far from the reality of God. Often times one can read David’s emotional writings as he cries out to God. Regardless how desperate his words sound they are then tempered by his faith as he remembers who God is. This is clear in Psalm 13. 1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? 3 Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; 4 my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me. Like David, as a believer of God we will still experience deep emotions, but they are never to be experienced apart from our faith in God. As believers we are to live in the midst of the existence of God. Instead we often live as functional atheists. Our emotions follow suit. Living as atheists mean that we worship more the things of the world and we face life’s challenges on our own. Bearing the weight of life on our own shoulders will bring detrimental emotions. But resting in God and his promises changes the reality. God is real and He is here. Like David, as we draw near to Him on a daily basis it begins to change our view of reality and thus our emotions. If our connectedness to Christ continues, it will transform our desires to match His, so that what makes God angry will begin to make us angry. What brings God joy will bring us joy. What breaks His heart will break our hearts. The things that really don’t matter won’t draw us into anger anymore. The next question concerns where our emotions come from. In Proverbs 4:23 it sums it up in these words, “Guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.” There are verses all throughout scripture that communicate this idea to us. Our words, our actions, and our emotions are all on overflow of what is in our hearts. As it states in Matthew 7, “a good tree will bear good fruit and a bad tree will bear bad fruit.” The desires of a person’s heart will determine how they will live their life. Our emotions are an outward expression of what is really happening in our hearts. If we will begin to take note of our emotions we will begin to see the condition of our relationship with God. Let me explain it this way. Each of us have many deep desires such as a desire for love, value, innocence, peace, joy, freedom, order, etc. It is in Christ that these are met at their deepest levels. If I desire Christ above all else then my needs will be met in Him. I am then free to relate to others with a heart of service because my deepest needs have already been met. If my needs are met in Christ then my emotions will be more stable because Christ is consistent in my life. My joy, peace, and hope will come internally from my relationship with Christ. Because of this they will be present even when my external life is chaotic or difficult. If I turn to the world to meet my needs, then I will relate to others as a means to an ends. The purpose of others will then be to serve my purposes so I can get what I desire. Because of that people and circumstances will in many ways Several years ago, I heard a wise person pray, “Break my heart, God, with what breaks Yours.” I’ve never forgotten that prayer request. And through the years I’ve often wondered if my emotions line up with God’s.  Do I get upset at the same situations that angered the heart of God or do I spend time and energy protesting what Jesus wouldn’t have bothered with? On the other end of the emotional spectrum, do I turn a blind eye at what moved Jesus to tears or fail to notice the people and situations that stirred His compassionate heart and caused Him to take action?  Today will you surrender your life anew and draw near to Christ again? Open your Bible daily to Psalms and start to walk along with David. Pray regularly. Spend time with a few others who live in the presence of God. And as God becomes your reality your emotions will follow. We will never have broad enough shoulders to carry the weight of the world. We must learn to trust and relinguish the responsibility to save ourselves. Remember that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. It is heavy because it is not our burden to bear. It is His.