Living in an Age of Strong Emotions

 We are living in a time where emotions run high. Emotions themselves are not bad — in fact, they are part of being human — but they can sometimes cause problems. Even the disciples struggled with this.

Matthew 16:21-23
“From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and on the third day be raised to life.”

Who is Jesus speaking to here? His disciples — Jewish followers who were deeply familiar with the Old Testament and the Prophets. They knew from Scripture that the Messiah would have to be rejected, despised, beaten, crucified, and then raised again. God’s Word is above everything else!

Yet, like you and me, the disciples struggled emotionally. Paul tells us in Ephesians to “Be angry and do not sin.” Emotions aren’t inherently wrong — they can lead us closer to God or pull us away. Here, they almost led the disciples astray.

Verses 22-23
“Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Never, Lord! This shall never happen to You.’ But Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’”

Peter didn’t want to face the grief and pain ahead, and his emotions caused him to reject the truth of God’s Word. This happens to us, too — when emotions eclipse or even distort God’s truth.

We must never base our faith solely on how we feel. Some teachers promote a watered-down Christianity where going to church is about feeling something — feeling good, feeling moved — instead of standing firm on God’s Word.

Weak teaching creates weak believers. When the feelings fade, so does attendance and commitment. But God’s Word remains true even when our emotions say otherwise.

Even Jesus’ followers didn’t want to accept the cross, but their feelings didn’t change God’s plan.

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A Call to Evaluate Your Emotions with God’s Word

Now is the perfect time to ask yourself: “This is how I feel, but what does God’s Word say?”

Pastor Mitchell shared a powerful devotional on this very issue. He gave examples like:

• Feeling abandoned, yet God promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

• Feeling unheard in prayer, but the Word says, “He hears the cries of His children.”

• Feeling overwhelmed financially, but Scripture declares, “We have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread.”

• Feeling unloved, yet Jesus proved God’s love by dying for you.

The key is to keep your emotions healthy by asking, “I feel this, but what does the Word say?”

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The Reality and Role of Emotions

Our emotions are real and valid. I am not asking you to stop feeling — we were created to feel; that is part of being human. But as born-again believers, followers of Jesus, our faith must rest firmly on Him and His Word.

We cannot allow our emotions to become the ultimate authority in our lives — that place belongs to God.

Whether in times of stress, frustration, anger, hardship, loss, fear, depression, or even joy and excitement, God’s Word is stronger than what we feel in our hearts. This is true spiritual maturity: knowing God rules, not our emotions.