We all have emotions, and they are here to stay. I believe one of the greatest goals of every believer should be "Emotional Stability". We should seek God to learn how to manage our emotions and not to allow them to manage us. An excerpt from the definition I found in Webster's Dictionary states that emotions is "to excite and to move out." Think about this: You're out shopping, but you've gone for just a specific item you' re in need of. You've made a commitment to the Lord to get out of debt. You've promised Him to tithe and give offerings as He directs. You've agreed to really watch your spending and not purchase things that you don't need. But now while shopping, you discovered that the stores were all having a big sale of 50 percent off the already marked down merchandise. What would you do? You get excited. The more you look around, the more excited you get. Emotions are rising higher and higher. They begin to move out (as the definition said), and part of the devil's plan is for you to follow your emotions.

God wants you to use wisdom. Wisdom says wait a little while until the emotions settle down and check if you really believe it's the right thing to do. The bible says in Colossians 3:15 to be led by peace in making decisions. Don't let your emotions make your decisions. A good statement to remember is this: "Wisdom says wait; emotions say hurry."

An emotional person is defined as: "One easily affected with or stirred by emotion; one who displays emotion; one with a tendency to rely on or place too much value on emotion; one whose conduct is ruled by emotion rather than reason."

Be honest with yourself in this area; and if you believe that you are not managing your emotions, begin to pray and seek God about "Emotional Maturity."

In the past years of my life, I experienced a lot of ups and downs, or what we call "Mood Swings." Picture a swing, up - down, up - down, up - down. This kind of behavior was hard on me, as well as, everyone around me. I felt bad about myself. People out of control always feel unhappy about themselves. God created us to operate with a free will. We choose what we will do and what won't do. There is a God-given desire inside the believer to do the right thing. When we allow our flesh to rule, we know we are out of control; however, we are created to be operating in the fruit of self-control.

Self-control is a freedom not a bondage. You are free to use wisdom, free to obey God, free to follow the leading of the Spirit. You are free not to be pushed around by your feelings. You don't have to do what you feel like doing. You are free to do what you know is wise.

Self-control will help you feel better about yourself. When I was experiencing so many ups and downs, it also made me physically tired. It takes a lot of energy to go through all kinds of emotional changes. I noticed, as God helped me to learn to manage my emotions, I also enjoyed more energy. Maybe you should stop and ask the Lord if that's why you've been so tired lately. Do you let your emotions manage you?

My moods were hard on my family too. After I was well on my way to stability, my husband, Dave, revealed a secret. He told me that during the years I was acting up, while he would be driving down the highway after work at night, most of the time he would ponder on the thought, "I wonder what she will be like tonight?" It is really very sad to imagine a person to have to be put through that kind of situation. My husband has always been very stable, and it is very comforting to live with someone you can depend on to be level and in control all the time. He was very happy for me, and himself also, when I began getting victory in this area. Children also need a stable atmosphere to grow up in. Stability is really an important issue for all of us.

Jesus is referred to as "The Rock". That says in itself that you can depend on Him to be stable, the same Jesus all the time—always faithful, loyal, true to His Word, and mature, not one way one time and another way the next time.

Jeremiah 17:8 and Psalm 1:3 both instruct us to be like trees firmly planted. I Peter 5:8-9 (Amplified) teaches us to be well-balanced, temperate (self controlled) to keep Satan from devouring us. To withstand him, it says to be rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined. Philippians 1:28 tells us to be constant when Satan comes against us. Psalm 94:13 says God wants to give us power to stay calm in adversity. All of these are referring to being stable. Make "Emotional Maturity" a priority goal in your life.

I'm going to close with these statements for your consideration:

1. He who lives by emotions lives without principle.
2. We cannot be spiritual (walk in the spirit) and be led by emotions.
3. Emotions won't go away, but you can learn to "Manage Your Emotions."
4. You can have emotions, but you can't trust them.

by Joyce Meyer