Handling Tough Emotions

Certain emotions are difficult to experience. How do we deal with them in a way that honors God?

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How Emotions Work

Posted: October 30, 2015
Feeling angry, sad, or afraid? God created all of our emotions, and he can use every part of our emotional life to help us grow mature in our relationship with him.

Talking Points:

  • Emotions are a part of daily life. Some emotions are great, but others are more difficult. Yet God created all of our emotions. He can use your emotions to help you grow in pursuing him.
  • The Psalm writer is not embarrassed to express sorrow, regret, depression, and shame. Yet, many people feel that the Christian life is mainly about ideas and actions, and it can be confusing to know where emotions fit. Psalm 42:3-5,9
  • Because of our sin, emotions so often are expressed in negative and harmful ways, but they can also be expressed for good. Jesus experienced anger and sadness without sin. Ephesians 4:26
  • Process your emotions by spending time asking God to show you your heart and life. Then respond to your feelings in a way that honors God – not by stuffing them, but by choosing God’s ways in spite of how you feel. Psalm 42:9,11
Discussion:
  1. Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. Do you ever find emotions confusing? If so, in what ways?
  3. Do you think emotions are good, bad, or neutral? Explain.
  4. Read Deuteronomy 9:22. In what ways are God’s emotions like ours, and different from ours?
  5. Read Matthew 26:37-38. What do you learn from the examples of Jesus’ emotional life?
  6. Why is it important to reflect on your emotions in God’s presence? How would a person actually do that?
  7. Read Psalm 42:9,11. How can you respond to your feelings in a way that honors God – without denying or burying them?
  8. Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?

 

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Addressing Your Anger

Posted: September 28, 2015
Anger is often destructive. But anger can be good when it impels us to take action for things that matter.

Talking Points:

  • Everyone experiences anger. Anger is a powerful emotional response with a physiological expression.
  • Human anger is usually tainted by sin, as a selfish response to not getting what we desire or think we deserve. Yet it is possible for our anger to be righteous. Ephesians 4:26-27
  • Evaluate your anger.
    • Don’t deny that you’re feeling angry. Allow yourself to feel it but do it productively. Hit a pillow or scream in the bathroom but don’t take it out on anyone.
    • Discern whether your anger is righteous or not. Are you responding to an injustice or are you just mad that someone wronged you.
    • Discover the deeper issues. Find out what is making you so angry. Pray about it and surrender your emotions to God.
Discussion:
  1. Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. On a scale of 1 to 10, does your anger tend to simmer on the inside (1) or explode for all to see (10)? Give some examples.
  3. What are some ways you have seen anger cause harm?
  4. Read Matthew 21:12-13. Can human anger ever be good? Why or why not? How would you describe Jesus’ emotions in this passage? What does this teach us about anger?
  5. Why do people feel a need to deny their angry emotions? What happens when they do?
  6. Read Ephesians 4:26-27. How can you tell whether your anger is righteous or not?
  7. In what ways can anger reveal deeper issues beneath the surface of the soul?
  8. Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?

 

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Facing Fear

Posted: September 28, 2015
We all have different fears, some reasonable and some not. Fear can protect us, but it can also paralyze us from honoring God.

Talking Points:

  • Fear takes many shapes: dread, terror, anxiety, worry, and more. Fear is a natural reaction to danger or the threat of pain
  • Fear can be good because it can protect us from real dangers. Fear can also serve evil. Fear can keep us from trusting God. 
  • The emotion of fear is not opposed to faith. Faith is about action, not emotion. However, the mindset of fear is the opposite of faith. Psalm 55:4-5
Discussion:
  1. Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you like scary movies or amusement park rides?
  3. How is fear both a common and a unique experience?
  4. When can fear be helpful? How have you experienced that?
  5. Read Psalm 55:4-5. When can fear be sinful? How have you experienced that?
  6. Read Matthew 26:36-37. “The emotion of fear is not opposed to faith.” How did Jesus demonstrate this? How can you harness your fear to propel you to do what God wants you to do?
  7. How can a person evaluate what action to take when facing some particular fear?
  8. Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?

 

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Struggling with Sadness

Posted: September 29, 2015
No one likes being sad, but surprisingly, God can use sadness to make us better people.

Talking Points:

  • Everyone will experience sadness. Sadness is emotional pain that results from any kind of personal loss. 
  • Sorrow can be good and bad. Sadness can be sinful. Our sense of loss may be related to selfish life patterns or self-centered goals. It can be a result of loving the wrong things in life. But the Bible gives many examples of godly people experiencing sadness. 
  • God can use our sadness to transform us.
    • God can use sadness to purify what we value. It can cause you to evaluate what things really matter enough to truly be mourned.
    • God can use sadness to enlarge our souls. Sorrow can make you a deeper, wiser, more compassionate person.
    • God can use sorrow to develop greater dependence on him.
  • God can use you to help others with their sorrow. We can show empathy and care for others because we can relate to their pain.
Discussion:
  1. Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. What is the last movie that made you cry? What happened?
  3. When is sadness sinful? Give an example.
  4. On a scale of 1 to 10, how comfortable are you expressing sorrow openly or in public? Explain.
  5. What are some examples of things you’ve been sad about that weren’t worth your energy? What are some examples of things that were painful in your life that were worth expressing your sadness?
  6. Read 2 Corinthians 7:10. What are some ways that God can use sadness to transform us?
  7. How have you discovered God at work during times of sorrow?
  8. Read Romans 12:15. Who was there to weep with you in your sadness? What did they do that helped you the most?
  9. Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?

 

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