Breaking Free from Bondage to Your Emotions

Last week, 30 Days of Surrender author Savannah Morello joined us to talk about overcoming overwhelming emotions. Click here to read that post. We are finishing up this wonderful interview with her today about breaking free from bondage to our emotions. 

What daily habits would you recommend for avoiding a lifestyle of being controlled by emotions?

          Knowing truth is knowing God’s Word; it is the ultimate measure of truth. I would encourage you to spend time in the Bible every day. Good, quality time. I know how hard it is to read over today’s verses and leave it at that, but what good is a mirror if you forget what you look like? Dig deep into the passage you have chosen. What did the author mean? Could there possibly be a deeper truth than the one that pops off the page? How does this apply to your life? What will you do today to live out this verse? I especially love the application questions at the end of every devotional in 30 Days of Surrender because they help us do just this.

          Still, I guarantee that you will not be reading the perfect verse every time you face temptation. Memorize verses so that they are always on hand! Every Sunday school student knows Psalms 119:11. “I have hidden Your word in my heart,” why? “That I may not sin against You.”

          Another huge part of fighting any temptation, but especially emotion, is prayer. Lately, I have been realizing again and again how powerful 5 minutes of speaking your heart to God can be. Ladies, it is so refreshing! He never fails to point me to truth and show me how crazy it is to doubt an all-powerful, sovereign God. This is an especially powerful tool when you don’t have a memorized verse ready at hand.

          Now I know that “read your Bible and pray” seems to be the fallback answer for every struggle with every sin. But there is a reason for that! Don’t just discard it as cliché. The Bible has power no other book does. And a direct link to the Maker of the universe – what’s more powerful than that?

If you could break overcoming a life strongly driven by emotions into three steps, what would they be?

1. Identify places where you are being led by emotions.  

          You can’t fight a theory. Look for specific examples of things in your own life where you are following feelings over truth.

2. Decide to fight them.  

          I know this seems like a given, but it is more important than you think. In my own life, chores tend to make me grumpy. When I finally catch on to my bad attitude, I am very tempted to spout off a prayer along these lines: “Father, I know I’m being grumpy. Please help me stop. But I really don’t like vacuuming, and I just did it last week. And my back hurts. And my audio book won’t download. Everything is going so wrong, and….” Somehow, I don’t think that train of thought would help me. I need to decide to get rid of my sin, not wallow in it.

3. Keep going back to the Lord. 

          You cannot fight this fight on your own. As the song goes, “Take it to the Lord in prayer.” As many times as the temptation comes, pray.

In Surrender Emotions, you brought up how we can use emotions to glorify God. How does that work in contrast to being controlled and overwhelmed by our feelings?

          Our ebook 30 Days of Surrender wasn’t named that for nothing. Glorifying God with our emotions essentially lies in that one word: Surrender. That means laying everything out on the table and letting God choose what to keep or toss.

Just like every other part of human existence, the Fall warped the emotions God gave us. Happiness, sorrow, anger: God created these emotions with a purpose, but we have used them for sin. As my mom says, “No matter what a mixer may want, it will never be satisfied trying to be an oven.” When we use God’s gifts in ways they were not intended to be used, it grinds us down and wears us out. Let God show us when to rejoice, when to weep, when to grind our teeth, and He will be glorified. He has given us guidelines in scripture already: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12: 15). Delight in the joy of others and praise the Lord for all His great works. Lend comfort to each other with tears of sympathy and fellowship. God even uses anger. No one can read John 2 and say Jesus never got mad.

          Yes, surrender goes against our nature. It wouldn’t be called surrender if we were doing what we naturally wanted to do. And yes, surrender is hard. But sin lands us in a smoldering wreck, yet surrender leads us to freedom in Christ. Emotional freedom is found when we reach the end of ourselves and lay down our life at the foot of the cross. 

If you liked this interview and if you appreciated Savannah's thoughts, you will love our new ebook, 30 Days of Surrender, which you can purchase here.

If you could give one piece of advice to a girl who was overwhelmed by her emotions, what would you say? Share in the comments!

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How to Overcome Overwhelming Emotions

          As many of you know, we just launched 30 Days of Surrender last week!!! I was absolutely so thrilled and touched by your reaction and the feedback we have been getting! 

          If you haven't had a chance to purchase your copy yet, you can buy it here! We are using pay-what-you-want pricing so everyone can afford it. 

          Today, I interviewed Savannah Morello--one of the contributors and author of Surrender Your Emotions, Surrender Your Future, and Surrender Your Needs. Today, we are specifically talking about how you can overcome overwhelming emotions. Savannah has such wonderful thoughts and wisdom on this topic. Enjoy!

What did you learn while writing for 30 Days of Surrender?

          Writing for 30 Days of Surrender was such a blessing and I learned a ton! But foremost was the importance of giving credit where credit is due. God has given me a passion for words, and with it – I think – some talent. But I must remember that it is GOD who gave me this talent. I cannot take credit for any good idea, inspiration, or clever wording. Everything I can do came straight from grace. As much as I want to keep it for myself, all glory must go to Him.

           Secondly, I learned not to put my identity in my accomplishments. I have never really struggled with confidence, but working with other authors reminded me that I don’t have to be the fastest, the best, or the most talented. Everything I do should be for the glory of my God, not to feed and satisfy my pride.

You wrote about surrendering emotions. What made you pick that topic?

          To be honest, I chose Surrender Emotions because I actually have the advice to share here. I scrolled past so many of the other topics because I struggle with them so much. Now, I don’t pretend to have complete control over all my feelings. But the Lord has given me enough grace to win many of the battles I fight with my emotions. I can share my plan of attack.

In Surrender Emotions, you talked about dealing with frustrating siblings. I think we can almost all relate to that. ;) How do you practically not let your emotions get control of you while dealing with your family members?            
          First, I look for signs. It probably feels different for others, but when I get really angry, right before I completely lose control, I feel a pressure behind my eyes. The edges of my vision blur. It’s like my mind is trying to shake me by the shoulders and yell, “Stop! Look what you are doing!” I have learned to take advantage of it. This sign helps me realize that things are going the wrong way and try to fix them. 

          Secondly, I must stop talking. Completely. Even if it means my brother will have the last word, even if he doesn’t completely understand the foolishness I just saved him from:  I have got to shut my mouth. And even more difficult, I must stop any ranting in my head. How will my anger go away if I keep fueling it with outraged thoughts? I try to do this before my eyes go blurry – a lot of hurt can come out of my mouth even before I lose control.

But in the middle of an argument – even a simple, quiet one about who needs to walk the dog – stopping is the last thing I want to do. 

          Even when the Holy Spirit reminds me of Christ’s call, I quickly throw up a protest. “Oh, no way I’m stopping now,” I say. “I am so right this time. He needs to see that.” But does being right justify my argument? When I finally realized that the sin does not lie in being on the losing side of a fight but in actually getting angry, it became so much easier to stop mid-sentence and tell my brother, “Wait, we are fighting. I’m really sorry.” That helps both of us to pause. After we cool down, we can find a peaceful understanding.

What advice do you have for girls who are "more emotional?"

          Ground yourself in truth. Emotions have a way of surrounding us and blinding us to reality. 

          In my experience, whether I’m angry at a simple mistake, or doubting God’s ability, my emotions to trap me in a lie. I think part of us enjoys having a hearty cry, even if it is in anger. There is a reason we don’t want to back down from a fight. Sinful emotions appeal to our flesh. But when we have hidden the truth in our hearts, we have something steady to hold on to. 

          Know who God is. 

          Know what He thinks of you, of sin. Know how He wants to use your emotions for His glory. When you know the truth, feelings have so much less power. 

          Come back next week for the rest of this interview!

          If you liked this interview, you will love our new ebook, 30 Days of Surrender! Be sure to check it out here!

Do you struggle with reacting emotionally? What have you found that helps you not be controlled by emotions? Share in the comments!

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