The One With All the Emotions

Did you ever realize or stop to think about when Jesus came to earth as God in flesh, he was human? I mean truly human. He had emotions. Human emotions. He felt what we feel on a day to day basis. Emotions were created as a part of our inner being. Jesus experienced these emotions just as we do every day.

What are emotions? The dictionary defines emotions as a natural state of mind deriving from our circumstances, mood, or relationships with others. Basically emotions are feelings we experience based on our circumstances, surroundings, or those around us. Emotions set our motions.

Exhaustion: As news of Jesus spread throughout the land, people started flocking. In Mark 6:33, it says "people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them." The apostles had just returned from ministry and had been updating Jesus on all they had done and taught and John the Baptist had just been beheaded. Jesus was taking in a lot in this moment. He had to have been completely exhausted both physically and emotionally. He also knew that His disciples likely needed a rest as well. He told His team "Let's go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile." (Mark 6:31) The remaining part of the verse says "He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn't even have time to eat."

Have you ever been so busy that you don't have time to even think about eating? I have and that overwhelming feeling of exhaustion in those moments is what reminds me to stop and take a minute. I believe it is that exact emotion Jesus was enduring during this time. The crowds continued to grow as people from all over came to hear Him preach and be healed of diseases. Luke 5:16 says "But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer." "When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself." (John 6:15)

Jesus took time away to rest. He knew His human body needed it. Jesus experienced exhaustion just like we do both physically and emotionally. He took the time He needed to rest and replenish. It's ok to get tired and need to step away for a rest and prayer to re-energize and strengthen both your body and your soul. It's not a sign of weakness to need rest, it's a sign of being obedient to the needs God created your body and soul to have. When you feel overwhelmed and completely exhausted, it's a reminder to stop and give your body the rest you need.

Amazement: Have you ever visited an incredible place that you just couldn't believe you were seeing? Have you ever had a situation in life that left you nearly breathless with amazement? Those moments that cause to you stop and say "wait, did that just happen?" Jesus experienced this too. In Matthew, we read about a story of a Roman officer who had a servant that was paralyzed and in pain. He came to Jesus knowing Jesus could heal him. Jesus of course was more than happy to go and help. The officer; however, didn't feel worthy to have Jesus in his home. He had enough faith to ask Jesus to heal him right from where they were. "When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, "I tell you the truth, I haven't seen faith like this in all Israel!"(Matt 8:5-10)

Don't you just love those amazing moments in life? That very moment when something you experience or someone around you does something that truly impresses upon you an awe-inspired feeling of amazement. The ones you feel deep in your core. Jesus did too. I recall feeling overtaken with amazement when we walked through the bamboo forest for the first time. The initial glimpse of it was quite awe-striking...and completely, well....amazing. There was something so serene about that forest and just sitting in the middle of it - - stopping to take it all in - - is still one of my favorite memories.

Joy: The disciples would come back and report to Jesus after they'd go out to help minister to people. The disciples came back super pumped in Luke 10. They were telling Jesus all about the events that unfolded and that even the demons obeyed at the name of Jesus. After hearing their testimony, Jesus was filled with Joy. "At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit" (Luke 10:21)

I surely hope y'all have experienced this one. The joyous moments in our lives are often the moments that we reflect on and the ones that help pull us through those tougher emotions when they come along. There are moments in life we experience that make us want to leap for joy or attempt a poorly executed cartwheel oceanside. No matter how goofy you think you may look (and probably do-I know I did, but I have no regrets), express and share your joys - for yourself and those around you. It's worth every joyous moment.

Anger: Jesus got angry. He typically got angry at religious leaders who did everything for show. The ones who are all, 'look at me! I'm super holy and wonderful.' Jesus praised the humble and got angry at the boastful. Being all materialistic and showy is not how you help others know Jesus. He calls the showy, materialistic, 'all about me' religious leaders hypocrites and says to them "Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?" (Matt 23:1-36) Clearly Jesus felt anger.

In John 2:13-16, Jesus goes to the Temple area in Jerusalem. There were merchants selling all sorts of things. Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He even turned over their tables and said "Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father's house into a marketplace!" - He was angry.

In Mark 3:1-5, Jesus noticed a man with a deformed hand. Jesus enemies were watching so He asked them quite frankly if it is better to perform evil or good deeds on the Sabbath. They didn't answer and He "looked around at them angrily and was saddened by their hard hearts."

When people do things that bring dishonor to God, Jesus is angered. The difference is He didn't let anger control Him. He corrected the situation around Him, let the religious leaders know the errors of their ways and moved on. He didn't dwell on the anger and let it fester inside Him. Ephesians 4:26 says "don't sin by letting anger control you". Jesus was always in control of His anger, He never let His anger control Him. God shows His anger against sinful people - especially against those who do know the truth of God and yet don't follow it or don't lead others to the truth. (Romans 1:18) James 1:19-20 explains that we are supposed to be slow to anger. It doesn't say we won't have anger in life; it says we shouldn't let it consume and overtake us.

Sorrow: Jesus wept. He felt sadness. He felt the pain and agony of losing a loved one. He felt the very same sadness we experience while on earth. In John 11, we see that Lazarus is very sick and ultimately died. When Jesus went to go check in on Lazarus, He felt the pain of the loss of a beloved friend. In verse 35 you will see that "Jesus wept".

In Luke 19:41, Jesus is going to Jerusalem and begins to weep when He sees the city. Jesus felt sorrow and sadness just as we do today. He knows our pains and is right there with God-sized empathy wanting to help you through it if you'll let Him. We will have sorrows in life and will have times when we will need to grieve. We also have God with us to help console us and help us through it. He understands better than anyone possibly could. He knows our hearts and everything we are going through in every minute of our lives. It's ok to cry. Yes, even you "manly" dudes out there. You can cry. Jesus did. You have permission to grieve. Jesus expressed His sorrow. If you are think you aren't a manly man if you let a little tear out, remember, even the Messiah- the Savior of the entire world - wept. It's not a sign of weakness. It's a sign that you need to take some time to grieve and heal from the pain you are experiencing. Let Jesus hold you through it. He understands.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." (Psalm 34:18)

Compassion: Compassion takes empathy to the next level. Compassion is when you empathize so much with someone that you are moved to action. Jesus gave us multiple examples of compassion during His time on earth. In Matthew 14:13-14, Jesus was tired - plum exhausted. He was on His way to get some of that rest we talked about earlier. He had just heard the news of his friend John the Baptist passing and had been ministering endlessly to people who kept coming in swarms. While He was on his way to get that much needed rest, the crowds of people came again. Instead of turning them away, "Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick." He set His exhaustion aside and was moved with compassion for the people who desperately needed Him. I am pretty sure the strength of the Holy Spirit was working overtime in this situation.

In Matt 9:20-22, a woman had been suffering with bleeding nonstop for 12 years. Imagine that for a second ladies! She was so desperate for Jesus to heal her, that she crawled through the crowds determined to merely touch the robe of Jesus. Jesus was both moved with compassion and impressed with her faith.

In Mark 1:41, Jesus was "moved with compassion" and healed leprosy in a man. The compassion Jesus had for the people around Him, moved Him to action to help them. Jesus didn't sit around feeling sorry for himself or his personal sufferings, he was empathetic and moved in compassion towards others and the things they were going through. He lived to serve others. He set himself aside for others. Do you have that kind of compassion and unselfishness? Are you moved to help or do you sit idle in pity parties moaning and groaning about life? Think of how amazing the world would be if we all started moving in compassion for each other and set ourselves aside. It's not impossible. We are the ones who can make that happen for our world. Jesus showed us exactly how to serve others rather than ourselves. Jesus showed true compassion in action. He didn't just talk about or dream about it, He went out and did it.

Frustration: Matthew 17:14-20 explains a time when Jesus was approached by a man who was pleading with Jesus to save his son from the suffering he had with seizures. His son would often fall into fire or water when having those seizures. I can't even begin to imagine the pain of that for both the son and the father who likely felt so helpless in this situation. He explains to Jesus that he did bring his boy to Jesus' disciples but they were unable to heal him. Jesus' response was "You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." - you can totally feel the frustration Jesus was feeling through his response. He was frustrated by the lack of faith in His disciples. Even after all this time with Jesus, they still did not have enough faith to carry out what Jesus was teaching them to do.

Have you ever felt frustration? I have. It's reassuring to know that Jesus got frustrated at times too. We are not alone with our frustrations. We all have them. I tend to get frustrated with myself more than anything. Usually when I'm trying to push myself harder than I should. Like completing an unreasonable amount of tasks on a list to try to "impress" my husband while he's out of town. Good thing he still gets laughs out of that. When I say things like - "I'm going to build a pergola for outside - how cool will that be?!" He doesn't even question it. I'm pretty certain he just braces himself for the storms of frustration in myself for "not getting quite enough done today" that are about to come.

Agony: Jesus knew the grand plan and the purpose for His visit to earth. He was to become the ultimate and final sacrifice to bring salvation to the world. He had to die a brutal death and be crucified in order to bridge any and all gaps between us and God. As the time for Jesus crucifixion approached, Jesus was praying that God take the suffering away, but also that He truly did want God's will to be done. While in prayer, He prayed "more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like drops of blood." (Luke 22:42-44) Jesus certainly felt true and very deep agony. God allowed Jesus to feel the agonizing weight of our sins as he was about to take our sins on as His own - straight to the cross. Jesus took every sin and every consequence of sin we all do with Him to that cross so we can live free and clean as snow. Our sins are forgiven by God because of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. Jesus felt true agony when preparing to get His human body through the sacrifice knowing what was about to come.

Love: A rich man rushed up to Jesus and asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. Jesus referred him back to God's Word and reminded him of the commandments. The man proclaimed (I'm sure pretty eagerly) that he had obeyed all the commandments since he was young. Jesus looked at him and felt "genuine love for him." and said "There is is still one thing you haven't done, ...Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (Mark 10:17-21)

Jesus had a sincere love of people. He loves each and every one of us to this day - beyond measure. When Jesus was here on earth, He also made close friendship connections. In John 11:5, it says that "Jesus loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus". They were part of His close inner circle of friends. Jesus didn't go out in ministry helping people His entire life on earth without making any true and deep connections. He made friendships along the way. He loved those He connected with on that deeper friend level. We were made to connect with others around us. Jesus gave us the best example of how to be a true friend and love those around you. Sure, we love our husbands, children and pets, but are we loving the people around us like Jesus did? Are we following His examples?

Eagerness: In Luke 22:7-16, Jesus is enjoying a last meal with his disciples before the crucifixion. The meal is prepared, everyone just sat down, and Jesus proclaims "I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins." Jesus was looking forward to spending one on one time with His team. He was looking forward to being present with them and sharing with them. He was eager to join them for some quality time together this one last time.

Do you ever feel eager? The anticipation of seeing loved ones again during an upcoming trip. The anticipated joy you know you'll feel when you are together. A big move or change coming soon that will be a whole new adventure for you and your family. The anticipation of all the unknowns to come. A family vacation that you've been saving for over the last several years as it soon approaches. Eagerness.

I know I have been eager more often than not. When I know things are coming up or big changes are around the corner, I get excited and very eager about the next chapters ahead. My eagerness tends to spill over and I get very animated. I have a hard time containing myself. My husband is very understanding of this...thank goodness. About a year ago, we sold the house we had purchased during our move from North Dakota to Georgia. This was our "acclimation house" - you know - the house we lived in while we got acclimated to the south and learned how to say "y'all" appropriately. After a couple of years, we determined it was time to find what we would deem our "forever home". The house we'd truly settle into and call ours forever (as far as we know). That feeling of eagerness to move on and completely settle in was impossible to contain. I'm thankful my husband is patient enough to handle my eagerness in moments like these throughout life.

Fear, Anxiety and Worry: I'm lumping these three together because I cannot find any reference in the Bible to Jesus giving in to any of these emotions while on earth. Why? Jesus knew He belonged to God. Jesus knew that His life belonged to God and had faith that all God was doing in His life was for a purpose. That God had plans for His life that were bigger than His own thoughts or plans could ever be. He trusted God wholeheartedly. Jesus was surely tempted, but did not give in to sin once. Not a single time. He always fell back to His faith and love for God. When the devil tried to tempt Jesus, He would immediately refer to scripture and smack him in the face with it. Jesus stood on His truth, the truth of God, and God's Word.

Fear, anxiety, and worry are in the same boat rowing towards you at times. Worry causes anxiety and anxiety often leads to fear. It's a vicious cycle and if you climb in the boat with them, you end up in a whirlpool that seems impossible to row out of. I'm not sure about you, but I don't want to get in that boat and be stuck in a whirlpool.

I'd rather stay in God's boat of peace and trust Him completely with every detail.

In Matthew 6:25, Jesus says "That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life - whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing?" He further says in verse 27, "Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?"

When we are overtaken with worry, perhaps we ought to think about why? Are we trying to control things in our lives that we should be letting God handle? God knows the outcome. Worrying about it is not going to help anything. It's only going to cause your body stress and harm. Worry can cause people to have high blood pressure, heart attacks, stroke, dizziness, fatigue, headaches, irritability....the list goes on and on. Are you putting your faith in yourself rather than God? Is your focus in life off-kilter? Check your anxious feelings and determine where they are coming from. Worrying does absolutely nothing good for you, but having 100% faith and trust in God will always do everything for you. Next time worry tries to creep in, stop it and say - "don't come near me, God has me in and through this." It really helps if you say it out loud too. Yell it off the top of your lungs. The brainy people say the more senses you use, the more you remember things. If you hear yourself yelling that you trust God through whatever it is your going through, it may help you remember to sincerely trust God entirely. Stay on the boat of peace.

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." (1 Peter 5:7)

"So we can say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:6) Verse 5 says that God will never fail you or abandon you.

"This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:6-7)

If you feel fear, worry, or anxiety trying to come into your spirit - go to the Word. Pray. Fan the flames of God and find peace, comfort, and strength in God's Word. Let the Holy Spirit strengthen you. Dig deeper into God. Ask God to pour supernatural peace throughout you and whatever situation you are facing.

Shame: Jesus experienced Shame when dying on the cross - he was degraded, belittled, naked and exposed - he knows how shame feels. When he died on the cross for all our sins and took the weight of our sins on Himself, he also took all of our shame. Jesus died to free us not only from our sins and past traumas, but from the shame that can often come as a result of them. He died for us so we can be completely and totally free from it all. Free from all our sins and the remnants of them. Every last crumb. He traded places with us on the cross. He was pure and sinless and honorable. He took everything we should have been accused of and replaced it with His purity, sinlessness, and honor. When we accept this gift Jesus gave us on the cross, Jesus not only takes our sins as His, he restores our dignity, heals our wounds, and erases our guilt and shame. We can let it go and not ponder on those things any longer. Jesus took it all for us so we don't have to carry that baggage around everywhere we go anymore. Don't keep looking back at the shame Jesus already erased for you. Look forward in faith. Move forward with Jesus and check out the life He has in store for you ahead. His plans will always be greater than we could ever anticipate.

Hebrews 12:2 "We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne."

Guilt is directly associated with our sins. When we ask for Jesus to forgive us and forgive these sins, we should not hold on to the guilt associated with our past sins. We have nothing to be guilty about because Jesus has wiped away our sins. They are no longer present. There's nothing to feel shame or guilty of because it's as if it never happened. Jesus got the big supernaturally sized eraser and erased it completely.

Emotions are a part of every one of us. Jesus never once told anyone to not feel or experience their emotions. He is always present with us, helping us through the emotions. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) Jesus is celebrating the great and uplifting emotions with us and holding really tight onto us as He helps us get through the difficult ones. We all have emotions and feel love, joy, pain, sadness...all the emotions. The difference we have is that we have the strength of the Holy Spirit with us to help us get through the difficult emotions and to fully enjoy the good ones. The key is to get through the emotions with God's help and not take things out on those around us or get stuck in an emotion. Emotions are good - they were created in us right when we were created. They are a part of life we all experience. It's ok to get angry. It's ok to cry. It's ok to get frustrated. It's not ok to take those emotions out on those around us or to stay stuck in them. Take the time needed in situations to fully process. Fully enjoy the happy times, the love, the eagerness, the amazement. Take the time needed to fully heal from sadness, to mourn and grieve when needed. Jesus is right there with you through every single moment.