What To Do When Your Negative Emotions Take Over

“In the words of a broken heart, it’s just emotion that’s taken me over.” (Bee Gees, “Emotion,” 1978)

We all know emotions are a part of life, and usually we do our best to keep them under control. However, I’m sure many women understand when I say that sometimes control goes out the window, and our emotions seem to simply take over!

If we’re talking about pleasant emotions—joy, love, and excitement—that takeover can be a good and enjoyable thing. But have you ever been overwhelmed with unpleasant emotions like anger, fear, worry, depression, loneliness? It can be frightening when these emotions are let loose and we’re left feeling like our hearts and lives are in tatters.

I’ve found in my own life that I sometimes like those bad emotions. I feel like I DESERVE to feel them! That I have a RIGHT to feel them! But, unfortunately, they always lead me down a path that leads to misery. And if I allow myself to stay on that path too long, I end up broken-hearted.

Trumping tradition

He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath…behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. Luke 13:10-11 (NKJV)

One day, as Jesus was teaching a crowd of people in the synagogue, there was a woman in the audience with a terrible affliction. We’re told that this sickness had her doubled over, and that it had been a part of her every waking moment for eighteen years! Watch how Christ responds:

He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight... Luke 13:12-13 (NKJV)

How to Enjoy Life Despite Your Circumstances

by Joyce Meyer

Which of these phrases do you utter to yourself most mornings? Do you greet each day with an expectant, positive attitude about what the day holds, or do you feel like pulling the blankets over your head, dreading what awaits you outside your front door? 

We must combat the dread that tempts us to stay in bed by keeping a positive attitude and mindset. Our attitude is so important to how we feel each day. The kind of day we have is, to a great degree, determined by our thoughts and actions. If we dwell on negative thoughts, expecting the worst, our actions will reflect those thoughts. 

It’s impossible to reach your God-given destiny if you allow negative thoughts to fill your mind. Dread is a close relative of fear, and allowing it to remain in your mind, sets you up for misery and robs you of joy. 

My God, My God

Written by Barbara Alpert

What is your idol?

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” (Deuteronomy 5:6-8)

When you become a believer, you are no longer alienated from God or a slave to sin. Through faith in Christ, you are brought out of the dominion of darkness and adopted into the kingdom of light. As a chosen child of God you are to honor, praise, and worship Him above all else. God is a jealous God and it’s wise not to allow anything to come between you and Him. As soon as it does, it becomes an idol, a mini god.  

You might have brought your former mini gods with you when you started your relationship with God. You may not have even realized it. However, as you mature in your relationship with God, out of love and discipline, He will reveal what is neither fitting nor right in your life. His life changing Word says, “Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son (daughter), so the Lord your God disciplines you.” (Deuteronomy 8:5)

Wisdom From King Lemuel’s Mother

Scripture Passage:  Proverbs 31:1-31

INTRODUCTION: King Lemuel wrote the last chapter of Proverbs but he credits his mother with the wisdom contained in his words. Whereas most of Proverbs deals with a father speaking to his son, this chapter contains a mother’s wisdom that she gives to her son. Mostly, she deals with the danger of alcohol and the need for a virtuous woman.

1. THE DANGER OF STRONG DRINK (Proverbs 31:1-9)
1. The Wisdom of This Chapter (Proverbs 31:1-2)
1. The words of King Lemuel (Proverbs 31:1
   )
2. The prophecy that his mother taught him (Proverbs 31:1
   ): NOTE: a mother has great power to influence her children; consider the influence that Timothy’s mother and grandmother had on him (2 Timothy 1:5
   ; 2 Timothy 3:15
   ).
3. Given to her son (Proverbs 31:2
   )
1. Her own son – “my son”
2. Her physical child – “the son of my womb”
3. Her chosen child – “the son of my vows”; she had made vows to Lemuel’s father in marriage, but she had also likely made vows to God concerning her son and his upbringing. Compare Hannah (1 Samuel 1:11
   ).
2. Common Dangers for Kings (Proverbs 31:3-4)
1. That they would give their strength to women (Proverbs 31:3
   ; Deuteronomy 17:17
   ; 1 Kings 11:1-8; Nehemiah 13:26
   )
2. That they would give their ways to destruction (Proverbs 31:3
   )
3. That they would give themselves to drink (Proverbs 31:4
   )
3. The Warnings Against Strong Drink (Proverbs 31:5-7)
1. Destroys the rule of kings and princes (Proverbs 31:5
   )
1. Causes them to forget the law
2. Causes them to pervert judgment
2. Fit only for those who are losers (Proverbs 31:6-7)
1. The recipients (Proverbs 31:6
   )
1. Those ready to perish
2. Those with heavy heart
2. The benefits (Proverbs 31:7
   )
1. He will forget his poverty
2. He will forget his misery
3. NOTE: Christians are more than conquerors through Christ (Romans 8:37
   ) and will never have reason to fit in the above categories.
4. The Righteous Use of the Tongue (Proverbs 31:8-9)
1. To speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves (Proverbs 31:8
   ); consider Esther in Esther 4:13-16.
2. To plead the cause of the poor and needy (Proverbs 31:9
   ; Psalm 82:3
   )
2. THE VALUE OF A VIRTUOUS WOMAN (Proverbs 31:10-31)
1. Her Purity (Proverbs 31:10-11)
1. She is virtuous (Proverbs 31:10
   )
1. Ruth (Ruth 3:11
   )
2. A crown to her husband (Proverbs 12:4
   )
2. She is valuable (Proverbs 31:10
   )
1. Like the faithful man, she is hard to find (Proverbs 20:6
   )
2. Like wisdom, she is more valuable than rubies (Proverbs 8:11
   )
3. She is vigilant (Proverbs 31:11
   )
1. Her husband trusts in her (1 Peter 3:1-4)
2. Her husband depends on her; having no need for spoil
2. Her Loyalty (Proverbs 31:12
   , 23)
1. She does good for her husband (Proverbs 31:12
   )
2. She increases the influence of her husband (Proverbs 31:23
   )
3. Her Industry (Proverbs 31:13-19, 27)
1. She is a master buyer
1. Buying wool and flax (Proverbs 31:13
   )
2. Buying food for her family (Proverbs 31:14
   )
3. Buying a field (Proverbs 31:16
   )
2. She is an accomplished craftsman
1. Working the wool and flax (Proverbs 31:13
   , 19)
1. Spindle: used to twist fibers into thread
2. Distaff: the staff on which the wool or flax is wound
2. Planting and reaping a vineyard (Proverbs 31:16
   )
3. Making good merchandise like candles (Proverbs 31:18
   )
3. She cares for those in her household
1. Giving meat to her household (Proverbs 31:15
   )
2. Looking well to the ways of her household (Proverbs 31:27
   )
4. She diligently accomplishes her work
1. Rising while it is yet night (Proverbs 31:15
   )
2. Girding her loins with strength (Proverbs 31:17
   )
3. Eating not the bread of idleness (Proverbs 31:27
   ; see1 Timothy 5:10
   , 13)
4. Her Economy (Proverbs 31:14
   , 16, 18, 21-22, 24)
1. In purchasing and working flax and wool (Proverbs 31:14
   )
2. In purchasing and providing food (Proverbs 31:16
   )
3. In making merchandise, probably to be sold (Proverbs 31:18
   )
4. In clothing her house well (Proverbs 31:21-22)
5. In running a home business (Proverbs 31:24
   )
5. Her Charity (Proverbs 31:20
   ; Romans 16:1-2)
1. Stretching out her hands to the poor
2. Reaching forth her hands to the needy
6. Her Dignity (Proverbs 31:25
   )
1. Clothed with strength
2. Clothed with honor
3. Preparing for the time to come
7. Her Courtesy (Proverbs 31:26
   )
1. Speaking with wisdom (James 3:13-18)
2. Speaking with kindness
8. Her Testimony (Proverbs 31:28-29, 31)
1. Her children rise up and bless her (Proverbs 31:28
   )
2. Her husband rises up and praises her (Proverbs 31:28
   )
3. She excels the daughters of virtue (Proverbs 31:29
   )
4. Her own works praise her in the gates (Proverbs 31:31
   )
9. Her Sanctity (Proverbs 31:30
   )
1. She ignores the deceitfulness of favor
2. She ignores the vanity of beauty (Proverbs 11:22
   )
3. She exalts the fear of the Lord
4. She receives praise for her wise choice

David Reagan

http://www.learnthebible.org