God Chat Blog #12-Inviting God into our Emotions 5/5/19
Have you ever felt an emotion that was so consuming or intense that it actually pushed you away from God for a time? It may have been anger or pain, grief or shame, sadness or anxiety, fear or even extreme joy. We tend to hear that we should “give our emotions to God” when we’re feeling something deeply. But is that what God wants us to do? Let’s take a closer look.
Just recently, I felt overwhelmed with grief. My older brother passed away this past December. it was unexpected, and afterwards I felt such acute grief that I felt cut off from the world and from myself. I lost hope in God’s ability to comfort me. I felt stuck in hopeless despair and very alone. We can feel this way with any issue in our lives. It can happen with big and with small things, regardless of their intensity. I told my husband how I was feeling and he graciously offered to walk me through “Immanuel prayer”, a type of prayer that invites God into an issue to see where He is in that moment. Since He is omnipresent, I was then able to attune to His presence and experience that God was truly happy to be with me, right in the middle of my hopelessness. It took the cutting edge away just knowing that God wasn’t going anywhere, and I wasn’t alone. it was me that wanted to push away.
This issue of inviting God into an emotion, to be with us in it, is different than “giving Him our emotions.” Honestly, when we are feeling something deeply, it doesn’t help to give it away to anyone. That doesn’t really work. Yes, we are to cast our anxiety on Him, because He does care about us (1 Peter 5:7), and give all of our burdens to Him, as He promises to sustain us. (Psalm 55:22).
Psalm 55: 22 Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”
What is interesting is that the word “sustain” in this passage means to abide with, to nourish, support and maintain. We no longer feel burdened if we know someone or God truly wants to be with us, right in the middle of our emotion. We only feel burdened when we have an emotion that we don’t feel we can share with anyone or with God. Whether that is true or not, if we believe it is, we end up feeling alone in it. All we really need to know to lift that burden, is that someone or God is happy to be with us and to share that emotion or struggle with us.
God’s promises: One thing I learned during the loss of my brother is that there isn’t one emotion that God does not want to feel with us, and there isn’t one problem that He doesn’t also have a provision for. He actually enjoys experiencing it with us!
“You hear O Lord, the desire of the afflicted, you strengthen his heart and you listen attentively”. (Psalm 10:17)
Picture when your child or niece or sibling took their first steps. Even if they fell and cried, you were excited just to cheer them on, and then hold them for a bit before putting them on their feet again for another try. The tears were a part of the struggle and you were just glad to be with them in it. That is how God is with us. He wants to experience you in all your emotions. He wants to walk alongside you, and let you find the victory in the struggle, knowing that He is there for you. He’s simply elated to go through these steps with you as you learn to walk with Him. Soon you will be dancing and leaping and doing summersaults with Him, but right now we are learning the basics.
Dancing with Joy
Exercise: In this next exercise we will combine a few of the God Chat basics that we’ve learned in previous blogs to help you continue your practice, this time inviting God into an emotion of your own. If you are new to God Chat, this will serve as a brief review of the core concepts.
1) Quiet yourself by allowing your mind to be still and breathe deeply. With every breath, allow God’s presence to expand within you. Notice what that feels like. Close your eyes and do this for at least 2-3 minutes if not more. Take your time. Wait until your mind is able to bring itself back to your breathing or God’s presence whenever it wanders. Wait until you notice where in your body you feel a sense of deeper relaxation. If you need to you can put on some instrumental music. (Some people prefer to move or pace while quieting).
2) Whisper something you are grateful for to God (this turns on your relational connectors in your brain). Go into some details about what it is. if you can’t think of anything, go back to the quieting or ask God to bring something to mind and trust the first thing you think of. Elaborate on this until you feel the feeling and you can notice where you feel this in your body. Noticing where you feel it in your body is the first sign that your brain’s relational center is starting to “fire up”, so don’t skip this important step. This can include feeling less tense, more relaxed, a calm feeling in your stomach, less headache, etc. Then, listen for a response God may have to your gratitude. You are not “hearing from God” on the level of biblical inspiration, your mind is simply synchronizing with God. Write what comes to mind and you can check it against the filter checks later. (See Helpful Tools, Filter checks). You may sense something like, “You are welcome”, or “I am listening to you. I enjoy doing those things for you”. Write these below.
3) Ask God to show you a situation and an emotion that you felt this past week or two, where you experienced being burdened, overwhelmed, or alone. When you get the situation and the emotion, write it below. (It may be more than one emotion, write down whatever comes to mind).
If you cannot get a situation or if you feel immediately disconnected from God after getting it, simply say the calming statement below out loud, “Whenever I’m afraid, I trust in you Oh, God” several times.
If you cannot narrow the emotion(s) down, try to see which of the following emotions it resembled the most: mad, sad, fear, shame, disgust, hopeless despair, joy.
Situation:
Emotions:
Calming statement: End this section by saying out loud, “Whenever I am ____________(the emotion), I trust in you, O God”. Quiet yourself and take another breath. Return to your gratitude moment for a minute. Then proceed.
4) Invite God into your emotion: Ask Him to show you where He was in this emotion or His perspective on the situation. You can ask Him, “How did you see this God?” or “God where were you in this situation?” or “What do you want me to know about this emotion?” Be still and He will show you. Pray that you will be able to discern His guidance. Write down what you get, and don’t filter or wonder if it is really God you are hearing. You can check this against the filter checks later. (See filter checks, Blog # 5). Simply write down the first things that come to mind, remembering that you are synchronizing your mind with His.
God’s perspective:
Emotion: (write down your emotion after hearing God’s perspective).
5) If your emotion is not greater peace, keep going back to the calming statement on the top of page 3, and repeating it, proceeding again with step 4 until you come to a place of peace. God is listening and wants to hear you.
“You hear O Lord, the desire of the afflicted, you strengthen his heart and you listen attentively”. (Psalm 10:17).
6) Always end with gratitude for what you’ve experienced and let God know your “Take-Aways” from this exercise, and what you want Him to help you with this week.
Enjoy the next few weeks practicing these principles of inviting God into your emotions and situations to gain His perspective. Remember God loves to be invited into all our emotions. He delights to share your sorrows, your anger, your shame and your joy and laughter alongside you. Emote with Him and enjoy!
Happy God Chatting!
Denice Mackenzie
