Guard Your Emotions

Dear COAH,

Guard your emotions.

In life, good things happen as well as bad things. Our mood changes depending on what we hear. We feel fantastic, joyful, and happy if it is something good. We get upset, frustrated, or helpless if it is something terrible. Can you imagine hearing good and bad news often throughout the day? Not only do our emotions keep changing, but the emotions of those who live or work with us can also change. They must adjust to our roller-coater emotions accordingly.

The Proverbs teach us the importance of keeping our emotions (the heart) in check. Take a look at the following verses:

•   Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it (Prov. 4:23).

•   Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city (Prov. 16:32).

It is so important to take care of our own emotions. There is no excuse for getting upset so quickly or reacting so negatively. We must learn how to calm our hearts and minds. We must give all areas of our lives to the Lord and seek the Lord's help even in controlling our emotions.

When Paul and Silas were imprisoned while preaching the gospel at Philippi, they stayed up to pray and praise the Lord. They could have been upset and shown all their negative emotions. But they did not because they put their complete trust in the Lord. Soon after their prayer, a great earthquake hit the jail floor, and they walked out freely (Acts 16:25-26). I am not saying that this kind of miracle will always happen when we keep our emotions positive. But we must remain in the Lord even in adverse circumstances.

Let us watch our emotions closely. If we are upset at the minor things because it is not going our way, then it is time to take the command 'give thanks' seriously. We must ask the Spirit to guide us every day. Remember, we still live with our fallen selves. God's work is not done with us yet. The Spirit is our sanctifier. Ask Him to keep your emotions in check and ask the Spirit to guide every step we take and respond to every news we hear.