Help For Us Emotional Yoyos: 7 Keys to Effectively Manage Your Emotions

Are you an emotional yoyo like me? Up and down in how you feel? Thinking you are destined to act in accordance with your mood?

What are we to do?! Is there no hope for us?

More than 10 years ago I became sick and tired of being dominated by my feelings, but I didn’t know how to change; didn’t know where to go for answers. There’s a lot of psychobabble and false teaching out there. I was afraid I would be putting more wrong information into an already messed up mind.

Knowing my desperation for change, the Lord led me to the best place to find answers in controlling your emotions: the bible. There I found true answers and I must pass these freeing discoveries on to you.

7 Keys to Effectively Manage Your Emotions

Last time I gave you the first two keys in dealing with your emotions the right way.

1. Admit, accept and submit your tendencies for God’s purposes.

2. Let truth lead instead of your emotions.

Here are 5 more keys to help you take control over your feelings.

3. Understand what emotions are.

Always follow thought; only responders.
Have no intellect; not rational
Cannot tell the difference between past and present, i.e. memory can trigger past-felt emotions.

4. Understand what emotions are not.

Not the truth; unreliable source of information
Not to be denied, but dealt with
Not a guide to make decisions or to determine God’s will; feelings often cloud our judgement.

We must be careful not to mistake our feelings for the Holy Spirit’s leading. Unfortunately, I have done this and have suffered the consequences.

Spare yourself needless pain and let God lead you—not your feelings!

Not a sin

It isn’t wrong to feel sad or discouraged. This was a huge piece of the puzzle for me. I used to believe that if I didn’t always have the joy of the Lord I was sinning. That just made me feel worse! Jesus wept; agonized in the garden. And we know He didn’t sin! So how do we reconcile these two seemingly contradicting truths?

It’s what we do with those emotions that count.

Not an excuse to sin.

Sorry, “I just couldn’t help it!” mentality doesn’t cut it with God!

5. Emotions are only one facet of our being.

“Man is like a diamond with its many facets. Those facets are not separate entities, yet they reflect various aspects of the whole. They may serve similar or overlapping functions, yet they are distinguishable. They are not parts; they are aspects, facets, faces of the whole.”*

Aspects include soul, spirit, heart, conscience, mind, flesh, and will.

6. There are many factors influencing our feelings.

Thoughts, past experiences, personality/temperament, and health are just a few of them. Some of these we can change; others we cannot.

We can look at these factors and work on the ones we can change. What we cannot change we can accept by humbling ourselves and surrendering it to the Lord. (=Key #1)

Most of us have seen this Serenity Prayer:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

And wisdom to know the difference.

7. Trust God to do His part.

God doesn’t want you to be controlled by your emotions; He wants to be LORD over your emotions. In fact, you need His power.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness….
(2 Pet 1:3)

So ask God to let Him manage your emotions. It is His will and desire. And if you ask anything according to His will, you will receive it (Jn 16:23)—only give Him time to work!

My friends, I’ve only touched the surface. But it is enough to get you started! Click to find more scriptures on managing emotions.

To go even deeper, check out my Managing Emotions Seminar and Workshops.

*Ryrie Basic Theology