Having faith does not mean being without tears. Though we trust God, our emotions can still be shaken. Some days, tears flow during worship; other days, our lips do not even move to sing praise. Often, facing such emotional ups and downs, we doubt ourselves and fall into condemning thoughts that our faith is lacking.
However, the Bible does not declare emotions themselves as sin. Rather, how we manage those emotions is the key issue, and faith is not about removing emotions but choosing to look to God even amid them.
Emotions are to be controlled, not eliminated.
People often expect strong faith to mean maintaining calmness—always joyful and thankful, never angry or discouraged. Yet, the Bible portrays differently. Even those deeply used by God experienced emotional storms. David confessed, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow,” and Elijah once sought death under the broom tree.
Jeremiah was called the weeping prophet because of his lamentations, and Jesus agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane. God did not reprimand their emotions. Rather, He honored those who called on Him honestly amid their feelings. The issue is not the emotions themselves but when emotions take control of life.
When anger breaks relationships, despair halts prayer, and jealousy breeds hatred, emotions become gateways to sin. That is why God clearly told Cain in Genesis 4, “Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Emotions aren’t sin, but when left uncontrolled, they develop into sin. Unmanaged emotions lead to destruction.
Today, emotions are often considered absolute. People say the “real me” is what I feel, and following emotions is the most honest way to live. But emotions are not always truthful. Some feelings are distorted by past wounds; others are temporary reactions from fear and fatigue. The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” This does not mean ignoring emotions but interpreting and managing them through God’s Word. Emotions are instinct, and faith is choice. A mature believer is one who can choose faith when instinct arises.
We often try to suppress or ignore emotions, but suppressed emotions inevitably erupt in other ways. It is better to pour out your feelings before God like David in the Psalms: “I weep because of my troubles all through the night.” David was honest before God and never hid the reality of his emotions.
God called such David a “man after His own heart.” Prayer is not a time to give the right answers but a time to offer emotions. Worship is not a place to hide feelings but a place to bring them honestly. There, God gives the power to govern emotions through His Word.
A life above emotions, faith under the Word
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians, “Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” This includes not only logical ideas or intellectual thoughts but also our emotions, attitudes, memories, and desires. Obedience here doesn’t mean forcing down feelings but living a life governed by the Word.
I may be sad now, but the Word says, “I will never leave you.” I may be angry, but the Word says, “If you have a grievance against someone, forgive them.” I may be discouraged, but the Word declares, “I will uphold you.” The power to govern emotions does not come from within but begins with the authority of God’s Word.
How are your emotions today? Are you fighting alone with unexplained anxiety, unspoken anger, or unresolved wounds? Such feelings are not shameful. But don’t try to handle those emotions without the Word. Emotions handled without the Word often become sin, unbelief, and broken relationships.
But emotions brought before the Word are healed, used, and bear witness. Even at the cross, Jesus said He was deeply troubled, yet overcame by choosing faith: “Not my will, but Yours be done.” He did not obey because He had no feelings but because He chose the Word greater than His emotions, completing the path of salvation.
Living faith is not about eliminating emotions but training to place emotions under the Word. Even today, many emotions rise within us. So that those emotions do not become the standard of our faith, we must daily stand before the Word.
“My soul, why are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God.” God wants to govern our emotions through His Word today, and His Word has never failed.
Maeilmalssum Journal | Today’s World, A View Through the Word
