Overwhelming Emotions
We all have them. Some of us have more of them than others BUT we all have them. Especially around the holidays….
So what do we do when our emotions are so overwhelming, are screaming lies, and are impossible to ignore?
I’ve discovered a few helpful habits that have worked for me.
Helpful Habits to Try When Your Emotions are Overwhelming
Read the Psalms
While I’m reading, I start listing any characteristic of God I notice. There’s no rhyme or reason to my list and it’s not pretty or hand-lettered. It’s just a simple list of everything I notice about God. Psalm 145 is a good place to start.
Pray those attributes back to God
Once I think my mind is focused and I have a pretty good list, (sometimes that’s one chapter, sometimes, if my emotions are REAL strong, it’s more like 4 or 5 chapters), I start to pray those attributes back to God and state, sometimes out loud, who He is. Just saying those truths aloud can help my overwhelming emotions stop being so loud in my mind.
Play Worship Music
When emotions are strong, you need to balance them out with truth and often just singing truth aloud can help control your thoughts and pull your mind heavenward instead of focusing on the pit in front of you.
This can be hard because it forces you to slow down and deny your feelings just for a little bit. But I’ve found if I can remember the truth about WHO God is and then spend some time worshiping him, I’m able to then sit with him and have honest conversation and prayer. Just jumping straight into prayer makes it a vent session to God instead of an honest prayer asking for His help and advice.
Write out your Prayer
For me, if I don’t write, I can talk without focus and just ramble to no end. Often, I will write out my prayer, then get on my knees and pray my prayer that I just wrote to God.
It’s important that you’re extremely honest at this point. Don’t pray the surface of your emotions. Get down deep and be honest. God isn’t scared of your emotions. He gave you emotions and finds joy in them. He also wants to help you not live in a way where your emotions control you so lay them ALL out before God and let Him deal with them. Often, when I’m done praying I simply hold my hands out to physically show myself I’m releasing those emotions and feelings to God and trusting Him to deal with them.
Rinse and Repeat
Sometimes, depending on the emotions and the situations, you can just make this a habit every morning. I just came out of a season where I literally had to go through this process 7 or 8 times a day in order to keep my anger at bay, my hurt in perspective, and let God’s voice be louder than any emotion I was feeling.
The point is to simply seek God in the midst of those emotions and honestly let Him help you.
I’m curious, what are some ways you have learned to let God’s voice be loudest in your mind when your emotions want to speak lies to you?
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