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I have always been a champion at repressing my feelings because I strongly believed they were not pleasing to God and by feelings I mean anger, hurt, sadness and all other normal emotions that come with being a human being.

I looked up the definition of repression online and according to medicalnewstoday it refers to feelings a person has unconsciously avoided, ignored, or blocked. It further adds that a person may have no idea they hold these feelings. Some other definitions online say that this tendency is to hide upsetting feelings or emotions and I don’t quite agree with that because I believe someone can also repress what many would consider to be a a positive emotion such as love or joy.I must also admit that there are a wide range of expressions with regards to emotions such as suppressed emotions,trapped emotions, bottling up emotions and so on but we will stick to repression to refer to all our tactics that lead to an inadequate management of our emotions.

What Does God Think About Emotions?

The first time we can read about Adam describing an emotion is after his fall when he heard God’s voice and became afraid. It’s interesting because though the emotion may be negative, it was a clear indicator to Adam (and to us reading the Bible) that he was the one who had done something wrong and was no more in right standing with God. Maybe that’s why we are so scared of emotions — emotions themselves are not bad but they reveal something good or bad about our current state or thoughts and perception of ourselves.

Genesis 3:10 (KJV) – “ And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

God created us in His image and throughout the Bible we can read God attributing emotions to Himself.

Genesis 6:6 (KJV) – “And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”

Ephesians 4:30 (KJV) – “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

Matthew 26:38 (KJV) – “Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.”

This simply implies that emotions are normal for a Human being and by extension other living things. God intended for us to have them and accepts that we have them, so don’t feel guilty for having emotions.

Why Did God Give Us Emotions?

Although our emotions originate principally from our soul, they can also come from our bodies and even our spirit. They are very good indicators of whatis happening deep down within us. It’s quite easy for us to know when something affects our external being (our body). For instance, after a bee sting, we feel a sharp pain and because it happens outside we can rapidly trace the origin of our pain. On the other hand, after a childhood trauma, you don’t necessarily trace the impacts on your soul immediately unless you dig deep into what you consider to be your character. This is where emotions come into play in that they reveal something deeper about us. They are important because of what they tell.

Emotions are also important because they make us feel alive and they show that we are living beings. Imagine a life without emotions, it would be very boring. Nothing compares to a good laugh with family and friends or even tears we shed in front of a soap opera. The last time I cried watching a movie was when I watched straw by Tyler Perry 🙂 and believe me, I felt that.

Are Emotions Necessarily Good or Bad ? Who Sets the Standard ?

Like I previously said, we can’t consider emotions on their own but we should always look at them from what they tell us about ourselves.

Not all positive emotions are automatically good and not all bad emotions are automatically bad. As such, fear in front of danger tells you that you need to do the needful in order to protect yourself while fear in front of a crowd before which you have to give a speech could talk about a self-confidence problem within you. Same for love, I could be in love with my spouse or I could be in love with someone else’s spouse — in both situations there is love except one is good and the other is not.

Another way to look at if an emotion is good or bad is to consider their effects on us. As an illustration, a person X could feel very lonely and decide to socialize more to try making new friends while a person Y could also feel lonely and as a result seek refuge into adult content and end up being addicted.

God remains the one to set the standard for us to judge what is good or bad and this is because He never judges superficially because He can see the causes and motives behind what we often feel. This means that He doesn’t judge the emotion in itself but what causes it. Go to God in a simple way and not in a religious way, presenting to Him your emotions in unashamedness and complete honesty.

When Cain the very first murderer started hating his brother Abel because of envy and jealousy, God looked beyond Cain’s anger and addressed the real cause behind his emotions which were his heart’s inclination, his attitude and lack of reverence for God and His principles.

Genesis 4:3-8 (NIV) – “In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[d] While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.”

God discerns beyond our emotions and sees what is hidden such as motives, our personal challenges and so on.

How Does God Want Us To Deal With Our Emotions?

God doesn’t blame us for our emotions whether we judge them to be good or bad.

However, we have to go to God with our emotions and ask Him to search our hearts and heal us where need be. At moments, we are unable to trace the origin of our emotions causing us pain or even resulting to negative outcomes like fights, rejection… and only God can walk us through a healing process and point out to the origin of our pain.

There are four essential non-exhaustive truths that we should have in order for us to handle our emotions in a healthy way:

• God loves you and does not judge you;
• Repressing your emotions doesn’t remove them or heal you but instead destroy any chance for healing;
• You are not your emotions — a bad emotion doesn’t make you a bad person;
• God wants to love you, help you, heal you and walk through challenges with you.

1 Peter 5:7 (KJV) – “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

In general, when we believe an emotion is good, we don’t think too much about it but just openly express and embrace it while we repress what we believe to be bad. It is important that we give God access to all of our emotions. Good emotions also have to be presented to God because they can hide bad roots. Imagine loving a good friend and later God reveals to you that the only reason you love them is because of what they give you and tells you to cut that relationship off. We humans are very God at deceiving ourselves and we need God to help us live in truth.

As a final word, I would encourage you to learn how to be vulnerable with God and not try to clean your mess yourself. He is there for you and only awaits the day that you will let Him love you and take care of you. 

Salvation Prayer (Please say it out loud wherever you are): - Romans 10:9,10

Lord Jesus, I recognize that you are the Son of God, that you came on earth, died for my sins on the cross, resurrected on the third day and You are now seated at the right hand of God the Father. I acknowledge that I cannot be righteous by my self and accept the righteousness purchased by your precious blood on the cross for me. I proclaim that by this I have now defeated Satan, hell and the grave. I ask you Lord Jesus to fill me with your Holy Spirit now.

Congratulations brethren and welcome to God’s family!