Emotions

Like riding a wave, they bring you high and low,
Sometimes they pull you under, or toss you to and fro.

Neither holy, nor sinful, they simply just are,
But when we can't contain them, we don't get very far.

Mercurial, ethereal, they move and they sway,
From the lowest of lows to the highest high in just a day.

Spontaneous from nowhere, they seem to arise,
No teller of truth, no liar of lies.

Emotions don't define us, they are not who we are,
But the process of circumstance from within our hearts.

Decisions should not be made, on what it is we feel,
Emotions are reaction, not determiners of what's real.

They are to be taken captive, not to be captors of you,
Can't control their existence, you must filter through what's true.

Anger is not a sin, to be sad is not to fail,
Happy isn't fruit, fear doesn't make you frail.

It's about where our feelings lead and what we decide to do,
Will we bed led astray? Or bow them down to You?

Faith is not emotion, it's the decisions that we make,
Feelings can be phony, but faith cannot be faked.

Don't feel guilty if you're angry, it's a feeling we all have,
But don't express it in harshness, or let it turn to wrath.

Sadness isn't failure, but don't let depression grow,
Take it to the cross, remind yourself of the God you know.

Happy isn't sufficient, God wants to grow in you joy,
We can lose a little happy, but joy nothing can destroy.

Because you feel fear, that doesn't make you weak,
It's not the antonym of faith, it just needs a little tweak.

If you declare Christ "Lord of All," you ought to mean emotions too,
Because letting Him be Lord of emotions, makes Him Lord of you.

So when you feel the wave, whether it overwhelm or overfill,
Take it to Jesus, hear as He whispers, "Peace be still."

Thank God for your feelings, let them draw you close to Him above,
He loves you with more than an emotion, because Jesus is true Love.

By Diana DePriest
© February 9, 2012