How to Resist Negative Emotions

Managing our emotions is difficult; even as Christians, we are still struggling. We have heard it preached, and also read it in the scriptures but putting it into practice is the problem. If only we could control our emotions from becoming negative, our married relationships would have been awesome, and the world a better place to live. It is much easier to preach it than to do it.

Yet God requires that we put our emotions in check so that we can be differentiated from the unbelievers. For if we are not able to show an example, then how can they become attracted to the gospel? Perhaps our behaviours are driving others away from Christ rather than drawing them to Him. God forbids that. We know that it is possible to control negative emotions, if it were not so, God would not ask us to do it. What we need is to take a little step further.

 

I am going to share with you a little experience I had this year and how it helped me learn how to  control  my emotions from going out of control.(this is not to say that I am perfect)

It all started after our morning devotion on a Wednesday morning when my husband told me he would not eat the food I was preparing for breakfast. He insisted I should cook a particular food. Meanwhile, the ingredients to cook his choice food were not handy, it required about 500 metres walk to get it from the nearest shop to our house. I tried to make him understand but he insisted that he doesn’t mind eating it anyhow.

 

At once my countenance changed and I walked out of the living room to the kitchen and stood there feeling upset. I stood still for about 3 minutes trying to figure out what to do.

 

“I know how to handle him”. “I must do something that would make him angry as well,” I thought to myself.

I resolved to cook his choice food but put plenty of pepper so that he would not be able to eat. Can you imagine what negative emotions can do? Perhaps that is why Jesus said that anger can kill. (Mat.5:21-22).

Feeling justified with my plan, I went ahead and started cooking. As I poured a cup of water into the pot,  scriptures began to unfold in my mind,

.(1 Cor.13:4-5)

 

(Phil.2:3-4).

“Wives submit to your own husbands as the Church submits to Christ”. (Eph.5:22).

 

I stood there like a log of wood, broken down. I bowed my head in prayer there and then asking God for forgiveness. God gave me peace and the negative emotions disappeared leaving me happy. I took a walk to the nearby shop and bought all I needed to prepare the meal, and I prepared it very well. At last, my husband was happy including our children.

The reason why we find it difficult to resist negative emotions is that most times we get carried away by the prevailing situation and feel justified over our behaviour. When the Holy Spirit prompts us we ignore it thinking that… Share on X. Things that would trigger negative emotions in us are bound to come, but we must resist them. Negative emotion does not only ruin our married relationships, but it also destroys our happiness.

For us to resist negative emotions:

Ø We must allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our lives. When we allow the Holy Spirit to control our lives, He will guide and direct our ways and keep us in check; whenever our emotions want to mislead us, the Holy Spirit convicts us.

 

Ø We must study the word of God with diligence. If we are studying God’s word, at the time of need the Holy Spirit brings to our memory scriptures that are relevant to the situation at hand and we get encouraged and strengthened.

 

Ø We need to maintain a constant communion with Christ in prayer. Jesus said we should pray always so that we don’t fall into temptation(Mat.26:41b).

 

Ø We must obey the voice of the Holy Spirit. It is one thing to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, and it is another thing to act on what he tells us to do. So when you are unhappy for any reason and the Holy Spirit prompts you with scripture, don’t be reluctant, act on it even when your emotions oppose you; if you do, you will surely overcome those emotions.

The bottom-line is SACRIFICE. We must be willing to be fooled for Christ’s sake Share on X. The world may think we don’t know our rights even though we know what we are doing. Christ set this example for us while on the cross, and we must follow suit.

 

Please share with us other ways you think can help us resist negative emotions in the comments column.