Jesus is Greater than Emotions.

Emotions. Here we go again. I do not know what to do. I’m in between the two. Do I fight off my emotions or dwell in them? If I'm honest, sitting in my emotions almost feels comforting. I'm just replaying the same emotion over and over again. It's like the world is passing by, but you’re staying still. Paused - in a deep thought. Then that moment comes when you want to get over it. However, it’s like it takes more work to get out of that feeling than just staying in it. Lord knows I’m trying to do what’s right. I'm fighting the battles of my emotions. Trying to overcome what has been overcoming me for years. I have come to realize how selfish are these feelings of mine. How they decide the way I will react to others or portray myself at any given moment. These emotions are so demanding at any given time. But, you see, the problem is we were never created to live a life based on emotions. Where one moment we are happy then the next we are sad. The Bible explains it perfectly in Galatians 5:22-23, which says, that the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are not emotions, but indeed, fruits that will produce when you spend time with the Holy Spirit. These are fruits that are cultivated that will overpower any fleshly emotion. The key here is to press into the Holy Spirit. The more deeper we go into the presence of God, the more we die to the flesh and our true identity in the spirit comes alive. A dead body cannot be sad, angry, frustrated, offended, impatient, fearful, and the list goes on. You know your body is still alive when you allow your emotions to control how your day will go. When you allow them to control how you will respond and interact with others. So, if we want to produce the things of the Spirit, we have to be with the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit will convict you when your emotions are out of order. The Holy Spirit will empower you to have peace in the midst of any storm. The Holy Spirit will instill love in you to love others at any cost. The Holy Spirit will produce joy in you to endure any hardship with a smile on your face. The Holy Spirit will give you the ability to have self-control to show you it is possible to live a life disciplined in the Spirit. There is a life in the Spirit where your emotions do not have to rule over you. To live a life in the Spirit, you must deny yourself. The Bible says in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me". This means denying how you feel and not letting your emotions decide for you. If we look at the life of Jesus, never once did He allow His emotions to lead Him. When Jesus had the right to be angry, upset, or frustrated, He always remained in control of His emotions. This is one of the beauties of serving Jesus. Not only are we saved and forgiven from sin, but He empowers us to live the life He did through the Holy Spirit. This means Jesus is greater than your emotions. You do not have to live one more day being a slave to your emotions. Make that decision to spend more time with the Holy Spirit and you will see the fruit of the Spirit flourish from within you. The roller coaster life of emotions will be no more because the One who conquered it all lives inside of you.