EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER

Emotions...what are they? Webster's dictionary defines them as "strong and complex feelings that arise subjectively (taking place in the mind), rather than through conscious effort." So that means when we say "emotional", we are saying that the strong feeling, that took place in our mind, has now become the controller of our actions, reactions, and responses. How many times have you become caught up in "emotionalism"? When we get caught up in our emotions, that mean we are placing too much value on them. Why put so much value on something that is as unstable, uncertain, and unpredictable as our emotions? As you know, they mess us up every time.

Proverbs 25:28 (KJV) says, "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls." (The Message) "A person without self-control is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out." That's something to think about. Every time we lose control of our emotions, we actually open ourselves up to and for anything. Would you find it safe or conducive to live in a house with no doors and no windows? Consider this the next time you lose it.

I often have people come to me and say, "Pastor, I lost it this time." Why, is always my question to them. As we mature, we should be able to manage our emotions, control our spirits, a little better than that. A person without self-control is a weak person. Sounds strong, but you are weak in those moments that you lose grip. If you were strong, you would have held those emotions in place. When we continue to operate in the strength of God, we find that we're not standing in line for the "EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER" ride as often.

One day I decided that I was just too old to be riding the "EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER", so I got off right in the middle of the ride. I used to think that God was going to come and deal with my emotions, get my emotions together for me, set me right emotional, etc. But as I was reading the Word of God one day, I was enlightened and began to see that I must do these things myself. God wasn't coming to deal with my emotions, I had to CONTROL my emotions. I had to exercise self-control. Exercise?!?!? Oh No! Who truly likes to exercise if you haven't been exercising at all? But I knew I had to do something I had never done before to achieve something I never have. So today I stand as a testimony to let you know that it is possible.

When we ride that "EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER" too often, people began to see you as moody, wishy-washy, schizo, bipolar, crazy....find yourself yet? That should not be the perception of the Children of God. We shouldn't be way up high one day, then way down low the next. Because we serve a God who is the same today, yesterday, and forever more, we should be the same today, yesterday, and forever more. Yes, you will have rough moments and challenging times, but always remember, you have the power over your emotions. Check them immediately and keep them under control.

Stop going off on people, being so sensitive, crying all of the time, walking around angry, frowning, and being so moody. Like I tell my daughter, "Girl, get yourself together!" I teach her at this age to control her emotions, because it seems innate (for females especially) to be moody. And stop using the "time of the month" or "hormones" excuse for your lack of self-control. You STILL can control it! Sorry, I'm sure I nipped a few toes on that one. But it's to help make you a healthier you. Go ahead and say AMEN!

And if you've already ceased riding the "EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER". don't allow someone else and their habitual riding, coax you into riding it again. You persuade them to call it quits. That's the one down fall we have, we never have the patience to try and encourage someone else out of that unhealthy trend. "I don't have time for this" is always our catch phrase. Come on people of God, we have an obligation and a duty to help each other. If we love one another, we will have patience with one another. And we have to love one another if we say we love God.

So I encourage you to be that positive influence in someones life today that you know is on that "EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER" tip. Let them see that it's actually more exciting to walk around, being free in your mind and emotions rather than strapped down in a seat riding on a bumpy track, going up and down, round and around, over and over again, trapped in emotionalism.

And if you've already boarded the coaster, STOP!!! It's never too late to get off!

Working towards a healthier you,

Pastor Renee