The God of Emotions

I wake up slow… on a good day it takes about 2 hours before I feel that I am fully functioning. I have learned how to compensate through the years so that I don’t do too much ‘dumb’ stuff like brush my teeth before eating breakfast. I have established routines and lay things out in order so I progress correctly. Today I was wishing that I woke up with exuberant energy, ready to take on every task imaginable (and I do have a great imagination when it comes to how much I could get done in a day). And then I got to wondering… do I have a low level depression? Is that why I am so slow to get going in the morning? And from there the “mind train” went from thinking about how God effects my emotions to thinking about God’s emotions.

Through the Bible, God’s emotions are expressed in His interactions with people. In Genesis 3, it doesn’t say that God is angry or sad, but His actions would indicate He was angry with the serpent for deceiving Eve and He was sad that Adam and Eve allowed themselves to be deceived. I don’t think God didn’t know where Adam and Eve were or that they had had eaten the fruit. He asked them in order for them to be able to confess what they had done because He knew they needed to be able to do that in order to find out how God felt about what they did and how He was going to respond. There were definite consequences for each of their actions, but God responded in compassion, making clothes for Adam and Eve.

In the days of Noah, “the Lord was grieved that He had made man.” Genesis 6:6  The consequences for the wickedness of the people was the flood that took out all but Noah and his family. After the flood, “God blessed Noah and his sons,” Genesis 9:1  The word ‘blessed’ has a happy feel to it and sometimes is interpreted as happy.

Most of us would agree as we read the Old Testament that there are times when God is angry, happy, sad, proud, concerned, compassionate, etc. Yes, I believe God has emotions. And since we are made in His image (Genesis 1:27), it is pretty clear that we will have emotions as well. In fact, emotions are addressed in the Bible from time to time… “In your anger, do not sin,” Psalm 4:4… “Love your neighbor as yourself,” Leviticus 19:18… “But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.” Psalm 68:3… And then there is one of the most quoted today, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6

And then I wonder… What was Jesus doing in the Garden of Gethsemane the night He was arrested? “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” Luke 22:44 This looks a whole lot like anxiety to me. Yes, I believe that Jesus was feeling the emotion of anxiety. It is very important for me to see, then, how Jesus is dealing with that emotion. He is praying earnestly! The more emotion we feel, the more we need to pray. Unfortunately, our human nature is to pull back from God and blame Him for our emotion rather than looking accurately at where the emotion is coming from and going to God for the strength to get through it. But Jesus clearly shows us that we can get through the greatest anguishing anxiety through prayer. Interesting that the most quoted Bible verse on anxiety says the same thing… “by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6  This is followed by, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 Jesus knew what it was to feel that great anxiety. He knew what to do with it. And He promises that same transcending peace if we will do the same: Pray trusting that God is going to do what is best. 

After His prayer, Jesus suffered through the crucifixion. But He knew what was on the other side and that brought Him great joy – even as He suffered. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2  Later, Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21  Trusting that only the greatest good will follow whatever brings us anxiety is how we overcome the anxiety.

I don’t believe it is wrong to feel emotions – whatever they are – but rather, it is what we do with those emotions that becomes important. God’s great peace is waiting for us. We need only to ask. Some days we need to ask a little more often than others, but it is always there waiting for us if we will accept it. I am so thankful I have a God whose loving concern for me includes peace even when I am troubled. He provides strength when I am weak. (Isaiah 34:4) We often think of that as physical strength, but I believe it includes emotional strength as well.

Thank you, God, for giving me emotions and for showing me how to deal with them when they become overwhelming. Thank you for your peace that comes and ‘overwhelms’ the emotion, stabilizing and returning me to peace regardless of my circumstances. You are truly worthy of my praise and I praise you today and forever. Amen.