Should Christians Pay Attention To Their Feelings ?

Hello beloved child of God, I hope you’re fine by God’s grace and I hope you’ve had a great day.

We’ve been in the topic of depression for a week already and today we’re going to talk about feelings.

I know that amongst Christians it’s kind of a controversial topic.

There are some Christians who consider that our feelings are our enemies and that they will always lead us to sin. As such Christians who pay attention to their feelings are considered by them as weak, immature and being controlled by the flesh. Christians who think this way believe that they have to block their feelings and to be completely without emotions, or at least to never show them.

Never get angry, never get sad, never get annoyed, never cry, etc.

I think this is a standard which is almost impossible to live by, and in general people who live this way build walls and aren’t always completely honest in their relationships. One day, they finally explode and everything they feel just spills on everyone else.

On the other hand, there are other Christians who completely let their feelings control them, as if their feelings were their god. What they feel determines what they do, they take all their feelings as facts.

For example, such a Christian may feel sad, and just decide “because I feel sad, I will not preach The Gospel today” or “because I am angry with my spouse I will never speak to him/her again”

You see, when you let your feelings control you to a point where, instead of doing what God tells you to do, you do what your feelings would want you to do, then you’re making your feelings a god.

So, the topic of feelings is kind of a sensitive one amongst Christians.

But what does this have to do with depression?

In general, Christians who completely block out their feelings and who consider having/expressing feelings as being weak will see depressed Christians as being weak Christians who are walking in the flesh. You may hear them say things like:

• You should be okay by now
• You are weak, stuff like that can’t make me depressed
• How can you be depressed for something so little?
• Just decide to be happy and you will be happy
• There’s a difference between happiness and joy and I see you lack both
• It’s the flesh not The Spirit

In fact, they will usually use Bible verses to support their point there by leaving the depressed Christian feeling guilty for being depressed.

On the other hand, the Christians who rely too much on their feelings may really really feel helpless and have a hard time believing that they’ll ever get well because what their feelings tell them is that they will never get well.

Where am I heading to?

I want to answer the question “Should Christians pay attention to their feelings?”

My answer is Yes.

However, there is a way to pay attention to your feelings.

You see, your feelings are true, they exist because of what’s going on inside of you. God put them there to be a signal for you so that you know what’s going on inside of you.

If you make yourself numb and block those feelings, you may not know what’s going on inside of you, and what’s being destroyed inside of you.

When you rely too much on them, you can lose sight of what God really says about you and what He really wants for you.

What you have to do is to observe and acknowledge your feelings and to bring them into God’s presence in order to process them in the light of His Word.

My favorite character in the old Testament is King David. One of the things I admire the most about him is the fact that he never hid his feelings from God. Anything he felt, he shared it with God.

It makes me see him as so real, and when I read the book of Psalms I relate to every single word. It was really written from the heart.

He didn’t use God’s presence to bypass or ignore his emotions but to process them. He brought it all before God.

Here’s an extract from Psalm 61, written by King David

Psalm 69:1‭-‬18 NIV

Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal. You, God, know my folly; my guilt is not hidden from you. Lord, the Lord Almighty, may those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me; God of Israel, may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me. For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face. I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my own mother’s children; for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me. When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn; when I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me. Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of the drunkards. But I pray to you, Lord , in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation. Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink; deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters. Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me. Answer me, Lord , out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me. Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. Come near and rescue me; deliver me because of my foes.

You see, he didn’t hide anything from God, he took it all to Him and he did the same for guilt, shame, disappointment, anger, just as he did for joy.

This is probably what I admire the most about him.

The next exercise will require of you to just observe your feelings. We’re not processing them yet, but we’ll start by learning to recognize them.

A good way to know what you feel is to observe how your body reacts to events, thoughts and news.

Here are a few Physical reactions your body can have to stimulus

• Changes in breathing (increased or decreased breathing rate)
• Gut symptoms (diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting)
• Fatigue ( feeling heavy, feeling extremely sleepy, not feeling rested even after sleep)
• Headaches
• Posture (
• slouching, stooped over)
• Dizziness
• Sweating
• Lightheadedness
• Tingling
• Constriction in chest and pain
• Uterine pain (for women)
• Feeling Spacey or disoriented

You may feel changes in your body when something specific happens to you. This body change is usually accompanied by a feeling.

You’ll have to identify your negative feelings, according to the following list:

• Sadness
• Fear
• Shame
• Anger

Exercise : How My Body and My Feelings React To Circumstances

Fill the table above and add your body response, your feelings (rate them on a scale from 0-100) and make sure to insert the corresponding event.

You have to do this everyday, every time you feel bad. Start doing it today.

For the moment we will just focus on what we feel but later on we will learn how to process it with God’s Word.

Prayer

Father Lord God Almighty, I don’t want to hide my feelings from You anymore, and I don’t want my feelings to decide on my future. Help me take all of them to You in prayer, to process them in the light of Your Word In Jesus Christ’s Name. Amen

It’s Now Your Turn

What type of Christian are you? The type who blocks their feelings or the type who relies too much on them?

Please let us know in the comments section.

Don’t forget to share this on your social media accounts and to invite your friends and family members to join us as we’re waging war against depression. You may save a life by sharing.

If you’ve not done it yet, subscribe to my Newsletter so as not to miss any post on depression and also, make sure to invite anyone whom you know is suffering from depression.

Click here to subscribe to my Newsletter.

Also, please consider sharing this blog post on all your social media accounts.

Invitation

Click here if you’re looking for a church. I recommend Elevation Church to you. A wonderful Christ-centered Church in which you aren’t limited by your location and in which you can see what God can do through you.

If you’ve enjoyed reading this blog post please subscribe to my Newsletter so as not to miss any new post.

Also, please consider sharing this blog post on all your social media accounts.