Overcoming Moods And Emotions

Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left. Luke 8:37 

  

  Our moods should never define us, and our emotions should not guide our decisions. Moods and emotions are like the weather, one day it is sunny and lovely, the next stormy and dark. I have learned to recognize when I’m in a “bad mood” and be wary of it. 

  

Moods nearly always are rooted in some physical circumstance, not in our true inner self. ---Oswald Chambers 

  

  My illnesses affect my moods. Simply having low blood sugar can cause me to be irritable and grouchy. Not getting enough sleep, or my afflictions flaring up, any physical circumstance can control our actions and reactions if we allow them to do so. 

  Never let a bad mood determine your decisions and reactions. We all live in these houses of clay. They are feeble, weak, subject to all kinds of problems and disabilities. I remember even as a boy when visiting a disabled child and seeing that child act out in anger and frustration it was easy to discern he was acting out because he felt so terrible from his disability. 

  We can’t always help how we feel. And at times it is an uphill battle to overcome our natural inclination to allow our physical circumstances to determine what we say or think. Yet understanding our upside down emotions, taking them into consideration, and adjusting our attitude to the reality of our mood, can help us to avoid saying or doing something we will certainly regret. 

  As soon as I realize I’m in trouble with my moods and emotions I call upon the Lord for help. I know moods can cloud my perceptions. And I know from experience that moods can cause me to act out in ways I will soon regret. We need the Lord’s help in many ways for many things and one of those things is our natural inclination to moodiness and emotionalism. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, help us with our overwrought moods and emotions. Our illnesses and circumstances can cloud our judgment, aid us by the Holy Spirit to follow truth and wisdom, not moods which change so quickly. Amen.