Have you ever been hurt by someone and allowed emotions to take over? I’m sure I’m not the only one who has been hurt and decided to allow my emotions to lead me instead of the Lord. Emotions give us insight but they don’t tell us the whole story. Ephesians 6:13 tells us to take up the whole armor of God. The enemy can use our feelings to make us feel less than and lead us to believe lies about ourselves, other people, or God. Ephesians 6:14 tells us to put on the breastplate of righteousness. We need to protect our hearts with truth from the Lord to fight against the enemy’s schemes.

When we are “in our feels” or allow our emotions about a situation or a person to take our eyes off Jesus we can miss out on what the Lord has for us. Recently I traveled to Israel for a couple of weeks to visit the Holy Land. Truthfully, I had just gone through a breakup a week before and I didn’t want to be in the Holy Land. I was mad at God, I didn’t want to be spending time with Him in the Holy Land. If I would’ve kept that mentality and allowed my emotions to keep my heart hardened for the two weeks (which I believe my flesh is fully capable of) I would’ve missed out on how much the Lord taught me, cared for me, and healed my heart. I grew closer to God than ever before. We can’t allow our emotions to dictate our worship or how we view God. Even in our faithlessness, He is faithful.

There is a reason the enemy is called the father of lies. The enemy would love to convince us that God is holding out on us. That we are not good enough. That praying to God wouldn’t be worth it because He has bigger or more important things to take care of or He doesn’t really care. That we must be perfect and strive for perfection. The Bible promises us God will sustain us (Isaiah 46:4), guide us (Isaiah 58:11), and He will meet all our needs (Philippians 4:19). Our God is a good Father, and a good Father who wants to hear from us. He already knows everything we are thinking and feeling. He is a big God who wants to hear every big and small prayer and He cares about the big and small. Thankfully, Jesus died on the cross so we will never have to worry about the impossible task of being perfect. Not one person is righteous, but in Christ, we are set free!

Although emotions can tell us a lot about what is going on, only God can lead us in truth. My prayer is in Nehemiah 8:10. “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength”. When I rest in this verse, I ask God to align my heart with His heart. I want to hate the things God hates and love the things that God loves. Although sitting and processing emotions is good, I don’t want my emotions to be the leader of my life or my decision-making. I want God and God’s truth to lead my life.