This is a post I rediscovered while writing another post on emotions. I seem to have drafted this at the end of 2020 in reflection over the whirlwind of events that had taken place that year. I decided to upload it today in tbe hope that it helps others understand how our emotions can be used to bring glory to God, but also perhaps help reflect and heal from a time that now seems like a distant memory.
What a year 2020 has been. The world has been shaken with problem after problem. You can almost hear the sighs of relief as finally we reach the end of the year. The COVID-19 outbreak that has spiraled into a pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, US elections… these have been some of the main issues among many more that stirred the nations. But we are still asking the unanswered question – how long will this continue?
Habakkuk’s cry to the Lord rings true today as much as it did in his time:
How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save?
Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.
Habakkuk 1:2-3
There is so much evil and suffering in this world. You don’t have to look far to see the homeless on the streets, the marginalised immigrant population, hospitals full of sick and hurting people. Even with all this at our doorstep, social media reflects the constant comparison and self-idolatry of this generation. Pleasure and lust and self-satisfaction have become the greatest desired virtue. The world is indeed full of sin.
But what is my attitude towards the world? Are my prayers like that of Habakkuk, expressing righteous anger about the injustice I see and crying out to the Lord? Is my heart saddened by the state of the world, where the Lord’s name is either forgotten or cursed?
My response is apathy. I turn a blind eye, refusing to see it. I block out all the pain, the anger, the conflict, the sorrow that rises within. There is so little I could do, is it even worth trying? It is so much easier to keep my head down and get on with my life, ignoring everything else that is going on around me.
The opposite of this? It would be to appeal to the Almighty, to tell the Lord everything. Not to block out all emotions but using them to go to the Lord and pour my heart out to Him who listens. ‘Lord, look at this world. Do something! For Your name, Your glory, Your people – do something!’ A prayer like this stirs hope into our hearts, and allows His Spirit to guide us, submitting ourselves to work His miracles through us.
We are taught to think logically, to not let our emotions blind us, and we bring this into our prayer life. The result becomes a somewhat formal relationship with the passionate Creator who loved us to give His only Son. Yes, it is important not to let our emotions lead us, but equally we must not ignore them completely. God intentionally created us to have mind, body, soul and spirit deeply intertwined with each other – to function and reflect His image as a physical, mental, emotional, spiritual being.
So what does it mean to reflect His image with our emotions?
Empathy
The Lord Jesus himself was not afraid to show his emotions. He wept when his beloved friend Lazarus died, and he celebrated with the newly wedded couple in Cana. Emotions are a powerful tool we can use to come alongside people – to jump with the joyful, cry with the mourning, ache with the hurting. It unifies, encourages, comforts, and ultimately expresses love. It has a mysterious power to open hearts to receive that love, the love of God. In fact, it is not just ‘a nice Christian thing to do’, but Paul implores the Romans to do this – “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 15:12). We reveal Christ through our emotions.
Alignment with God’s heart
Throughout the Bible God shows us what He delights in and what angers Him. His anguish and sorrow, His joys and desires are beautifully expressed for us to learn His heart. As we grow in our relationship with and understanding of God, we need to allow our hearts to be moulded into the shape of His. To love what the Lord loves and hate what the Lord hates. And when we see the brokenness of the world we live in, we can ask the Lord what His emotional response is. Ask the Holy Spirit to help us empathise with Him – overlay our hearts over His and feel a fraction of what He feels to fuel and direct our prayers of intercession.
Let us be neither afraid nor controlled by our emotions, but submit them under the reign of the Holy Spirit for the Kingdom of God. Meditate on the word of God – seek the Lord’s emotions. What does He delight in and what makes Him angry or sad? Allow your emotional response to the world to bring you to your knees. Finally, ask for help from the Holy Spirit. In times of emotional turmoil, pour out your heart to the Lord. He hears and He knows. Wait on Him and He will provide.