Emotions

"Then Jesus wept." John 11:35 NLT

Our Emmaus group was having a bible study the other morning. I went in for coffee and overheard one of the men saying that to him, the above verse was the most powerful and yet the shortest.

That got me thinking. If you know the chapter, it's the chapter of when Jesus' very close friend, Lazarus, died. He was told of His friend's bad health a few days before, but Jesus didn't drop everything and go rushing to Lazarus's side. No, He waited a couple of days and then started walking back to Judea, where Lazarus, Mary and Martha lived.

The chapter is a beautiful chapter of faithfulness faith--Mary & Martha's. And miracles--Lazarus's being brought back from the dead. But I could see what Dick might have been seeing when he said this was one of the most powerful verses in the Bible--and yet it's only three words.

"Then Jesus wept." Jesus knew what was going to happen. He knew that Lazarus was only gone for four days--that He was going to bring him back to life. What this shows, at least to me, is the power of compassion. Jesus was surrounded by people wailing and grieving for the sisters and the brother they had lost. He got "lost" in the moment, as we like to say these days. He felt the pain, the sadness, the loss of a loved one--and He wept.

Now a-days, it seems that we are not allowed to feel our true feelings. We get ourselves so busy, that we don't allow ourselves the luxury. We don't want to deal with feelings, so we bury them with business and such. Do you find yourself doing that? Thinking, if I ignore it, it will go away? If I pretend everything is OK, then it will be, right? If I show any feelings, I will be considered weak.

Emotions are good. God created us to be emotional creatures. Jesus laughed, cried, got angry and frustrated, felt compassion, joy. As long as you use your emotions appropriately, it's part of God's design.

So, give yourself permission. The gift of Emotions is that--a gift. If God has laid upon your heart to feel sadness, compassion, joy, love, anger--feel it. Just pray and lay the emotion on Jesus' lap and ask Him to help you deal with it the way He would want you to. You will be blessed with a freedom that you have never felt before.