Lamentations 3:19-23
I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Psalm 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
Our emotions are complicated, beautiful, messy and they are a gift from God. We are made in his image and God has the full range and expressions of emotions that we experience. Jesus expressed his emotions and modeled a healthy example of what it looks like for emotions to serve us but not rule over us. He showed tremendous love and compassion for the lost (Matt 9:36), the sick (Matt 14:14), and the grieving (Luke 7:13). He showed righteous anger toward the religious leaders because of their hardness of heart (Mark 3:5). We see Jesus grieving over Jerusalem (Luke 19: 41-44) and alongside his friends, Mary and Martha, at the death of Lazarus (John 11:28-36). Before his own death on the cross, Jesus experienced such anguish he sweat drops of blood (Luke 22: 39-46). Any painful emotion we have experienced, Jesus did too. He was rejected, tormented, betrayed, abused, humiliated, ridiculed, misunderstood, and treated unjustly. As he expressed his emotions, he took them to his Father, from whom he drew strength.
Our emotions aid us in managing all we experience in life. Our emotions help us express love, kindness, compassion, and joy. They also help us navigate pain, loss, disappointment and injustice. Most of the time our emotions serve us well, but they are not designed to rule us. When we get stuck in negative emotions where pain has become our identity, anger has turned to bitterness, or injustice has turned to hatred, we can become slaves to our emotions. God says when we come to him, he helps us. God helps us to sort through our emotions and brings healing. God promises he is near to us when we call on him in our pain. Matthew 11:28 says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He promised to bind up our wounds so we can heal.
Sometimes healing our emotions includes forgiving those who caused the pain in the first place. Unforgiveness can be like a ball and chain around our ankle holding us captive to the person or circumstances that hurt us. We drag that weight around with us wherever we go. What God designed forgiveness to do was to free us from being held captive and to help us learn to extend the same grace to others that He extends to us. Do they deserve forgiveness? Maybe not. But neither do we. The forgiveness of God is a beautiful free gift we receive through his grace. Because he freely gives it to us, we are to extend it to others. Forgiveness does not let someone off the hook or excuse their bad behavior. It does not expect us to return to hurtful situations or enter back into unsafe relationships. Forgiveness is about letting go of the offense so you can be free. Forgiveness is a choice we make and often it is a series of choices. You don’t have to feel like forgiving someone to choose it. When we do, it’s like cutting that shackle off our ankles and handing it to Jesus to be the judge and execute justice.
Emotional pain is often exploited by the enemy. He takes a hurtful situation and uses it to sow doubt and lies about ourselves and others. Sometimes the lies are so deep we don’t even recognize them as such. Just like unforgiveness, lies keep us bound. As we submit our emotions to the Lord, he helps us sort it all out. He can help us see where we’ve embraced lies. Once those lies are revealed, he helps us break agreement with those lies, renounce them and exchange them for his truths. It may not be easy, but we have a God who is patient with us and eager to help us. He willingly meets us right where we are, in the mess of it all, and helps us sort it all out to bring healing. Healing may take time or it may take a moment, but we serve a God who loves his kids and answers them when they call upon his name to help.
You may be someone who has deep emotional pain or you may know someone who does. Today, let’s focus our prayers on those who need God to intervene on behalf of emotional pain.
Listening Prayer for Forgiveness:
Holy Spirit, help me to forgive those who have caused me pain, Is there anyone I need to forgive today? Write down the names the Holy Spirit brings to mind.
Prayer for forgiveness:
In the name and by the blood of Jesus, by decision of my own free will, I choose to forgive ___(say their name)__, for:_____(say exactly what you are forgiving them for)________, causing me to feel____(say all the emotions the hurtful actions made you feel)____. Forgive me for judging them. I give them to you Jesus to be their judge. I take back all ground I gave to the enemy in my unforgiveness and I give it to you. Heal me now in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Listening Prayer for Breaking Agreement with Lies and Exchanging Them for Truths:
Holy Spirit, are there any lies I am believing about myself or others as a result of my pain?
Write down what the Holy Spirit reveals.
Holy Spirit, what is the truth about me or others in exchange for those lies?
Write down what the Holy Spirit reveals.
Prayer for Breaking Agreement with Lies and Exchanging them for Truths:
Holy Spirit, thank you for exposing lies and revealing truth. I break agreement with the lie that __(say what the Holy Spirit revealed in the listening prayer)____ and I renounce it in Jesus’ name. I exchange that lie for the truth you gave me: ____(say the truth the Holy Spirit revealed)____. I choose to believe the truth and ask you to heal my heart.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we thank you that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. We thank you that every part of us was designed to operate in health and wholeness as we bear your image. We thank you for the full range of emotions you have blessed us with, as our emotions are a part of a reflection of who you are in us. God, we confess there are times we have allowed our emotions to lead us in ways they were not intended. We recognize our emotions can be faulty. God, thank you for being near us when we are hurting. We recognize we need your help to navigate our complex emotions. Help those who are struggling with deep emotional pain. God, we are asking for you to bring healing to those wounded parts as only you can do. Help us all to forgive those who have caused us pain and bring revelation to any area where our emotions are not serving us as you intended them to do. God, please give those who are struggling wisdom and discernment as they sort through the hurts they have experienced. Thank you for your faithfulness, Lord. Amen.
Resource: Bible Verses for Emotional Healing
Philippians 4:6-7
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Psalm 145:14-20
The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
The Lord preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
Psalm 56:8
You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
Isaiah 40:28-31
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Worship Song: