Topic: Stopping the Emotional Yo-Yo [Joyce Meyer Devotional 22 March 2021]
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But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit . . . is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, gentleness (meekness, humility), self control.— Galatians 5:22-23 (AMPC)
I remember the years when I was what I call a “yo-yo Christian.” I was constantly up and down emotionally. If my husband, Dave, did what I liked, I was happy, but if he didn’t do what I liked, I would get mad. I hadn’t yet learned how to be led by the Holy Spirit, so I was letting my feelings control my behavior. This is actually a fairly common problem that people deal with. In fact, more than anything else, believers tell me how they feel. “I feel like nobody loves me.” “I feel my spouse doesn’t treat me right.” “I feel that I’ll never be happy.” “I feel . . . I don’t feel . . .” and on and on it goes.
God wants us to realize that our emotions are never going to go away, and He wants to help us learn to manage them rather than let them manage us. By His grace, we can choose to exercise self-control and not let our flesh drive our decisions. Not one of us will, or even should, get everything we want. A spiritually mature believer can be peaceful and happy even when they don’t get what they want. We can learn to tell ourselves that we’re not going to be able to say everything we want to say, eat everything we want to eat, or always do what we feel like doing…and that’s okay.
Today I want to challenge you to ask and let the Holy Spirit help you do what’s right, no matter how you feel. As Christians, instead of concentrating on how we feel, we can base our lives on what we know is true from God’s Word, which is stable and unmoving. Thank God we don’t have to live based on our ever-changing emotions!
Prayer Starter: Father, please help me learn to stay stable even when things aren’t going my way. Thank You for the truth of Your Word that doesn’t change, and for giving me the grace to handle my emotions in a healthy way. In Jesus’ name, amen