By now you’ve learned that the best way to control your emotions is to change your perspective. Instead of letting your circumstances control you and your emotions, you can choose to focus on God for your strength and understanding. When you do, your emotions will be more controlled.

But what happens when you lose focus and strong emotions sneak up on you, threatening to carry you away like a fast horse? You can pull back the reins! Today’s post will tell you how.

"The Freedom You Have Over Your Emotions" by Pete Briscoe

“Emotions were designed by God to follow and not to lead.” ~ Pete Briscoe

We were once on a family horseback ride at a family friend’s ranch in East Texas. My son Liam was riding a horse named Easy Money, and while we were trotting happily along, Easy Money decided he was done and made a beeline back for the stables. Poor Liam was holding on for dear life! But at that moment our guide shouted, “Liam, pull back on the reins!” So Liam yanked hard, and that 200-pound animal stopped on a dime. The horse responded just as how our emotions ought to respond.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23.

In this passage, Paul communicates what a person acts like when they have their emotions under the authority of the Spirit. The emotions might feel like a runaway horse, but we control the reins when we don’t allow our emotions to dictate our decisions. You could feel incredibly infatuated with someone in a moment, ready to marry them just on sight. But do you sign a contract with someone you met one hour before because you feel like it? Of course, not. You do your due diligence before you sign it. Emotions can enhance our lives when properly channeled, but when they are out of control, they can be very harmful.

Believe in your mind what God has promised you in His Word and don’t let your emotions run rampant like Easy Money. When those emotions try to take off in their own direction, grab the reins of God’s truth.

You are what God says about you, not what you feel about you. There’s a big difference.

• You are forgiven!
• The Spirit of Christ lives in you!
• The Spirit of Christ empowers you to do God’s will!
• You are significant and of supreme value to God and His purposes!

Holy Spirit, I claim the power You give me to rein in my emotions. They must submit to You because of the truth, which You reveal to me in Your Word. By the authority of Your Truth, revealed in the Bible, I proclaim that I am what You say about me, and not what I feel about myself. I renounce the lies that feel true, and by Your power in me, choose to act according to who I am in You. Thank You, my Lord, for the forgiveness You have given me for my sins. I praise You for the freedom I have over my emotions in Your name. Amen.

Pray
Father, You designed my emotions to follow my actions, not to lead my reactions. Help me learn how to keep them from running rampant. Help me to believe what You say, whether or not I feel like it.

Reflect
Are my emotions leading me, or are they following my lead?

Respond
Meditate on God’s truths about you and about the situation that’s causing you to respond with high emotion. Choose each day to believe those truths, and let them empower you to control your emotions.

Just say, “Whoa!” Pull back the reins, and you can stop being a slave to your emotions! When you place your emotions under the control and authority of the Spirit, they will begin to come into alignment with how God designed them. Remember, you are not what the enemy tries to bring out; instead, you are what God says you are—His beautifully created, forgiven, and empowered child. He desires good things for you. He wants you to have abundant peace and joy. How can you claim God’s joy for your life so you can temper your negative emotions and finally find peace? Find out in the next post.