As Christians, we must never lose sight of the fact that we will be attacked. These attacks, though they vary in nature, all aim to hinder us in our pursuit of following Christ. Though they vary in nature, their aim is targeted. At times, our health is targeted. Other times, it’s our finances, family relationships, peace, etc. There are also times when our emotions are attacked. Have you ever identified or considered that? One way to identify an emotional attack is to focus on how you are feeling. It seems like common sense, but often times, we don’t do it. We simply feel how we feel, but in order to overcome emotional attacks, we must intentionally approach our feelings. Read for 5 steps.
1. Feel
In order to overcome emotional attacks, we must feel. We must allow ourselves to feel, honestly feel, so that we can identify the attacked emotion. We tend to have go-to emotions. These are the emotions that are comfortable and natural to us. For some, it’s anger. For others, it may be sadness. The first step in overcoming emotional attacks, is to simply give yourself the space to feel.
2. Identify It
Once you have given yourself the time and space to feel, it’s time to identify it. We must identify the feeling or emotion that we are feeling. This takes humility, as we have to be honest with ourselves. Though we may not like the feeling that we are feeling, we still have to name it. You have to name it to tame it. In doing so, we separate ourselves from our feelings. One can feel envy and not be an envious person. The danger is when the person avoids acknowledging the feeling. Then, they find themselves growing it, allowing it to become embedded in their identity. In order to overcome emotional attacks, we must honestly identify our emotions.
3. Express It
This is key. This is when we get it out. Now, though we need to express it, we need to do so in a safe and healthy way. We all know of unproductive ways of expressing ourselves. The key in overcoming emotional attacks is to avoid sinning. Any attack is designed to get us to fall short. Either in thinking, speaking, or doing. So, in order to overcome the attack, we have to focus on doing right. After identifying the emotion, tell yourself: “Its on now!” And we know our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and spiritual powers [Ephesians 6:12].
4. Turn to God
The only way to overcome any spiritual attack is with the power of God. We cannot do it on our own. Therefore, when we are attacked, we must turn to God. Though this is #4, truly, we must do this immediately and consistently, when we are attacked. Just this week, I had a situation trigger an emotional response within me. Immediately, I felt my emotions rising and simultaneously, I felt the Holy Spirit calming me down. I called on Him to help me. I felt my emotions trying to take control, and I knew it wasn’t good.
In order to overcome emotional attacks, we must turn to God. We can call out to Him right where we are. In this situation, I was reminded of Psalm 46:1, which tells us that God is a “very present help in trouble.” His Word is true and His Word is able to deliver us from the emotions that try to overtake us.
5. Obey
If the whole aim of the emotional attack is to lead us to sin, our whole aim in the midst of the attack, must be to obey. Though it will be hard, this is where the fight is at. The fight is to do right. We cannot allow a situation or person to trigger an emotional response within us that will lead us to sin. That is yielding too much power to external sources. Inside of us lies the power of the Holy Spirit, which is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. So, when triggered, we must turn to that power within us, to help us to overcome the attack that we are facing.
He is able.
We must grow in not simply reacting to stimuli and instead, we must grow in yielding to the Holy Spirit within us. We must practice yielding when we are not attacked, which will simply prepare us to yield when we are attacked. Either way, we find ourselves denying ourselves (including our emotions) and following Him. This is all apart of the journey. On this journey of following Christ, our emotions must be tempered and brought under subjection to Him. The only way to do this and grow in this is to exercise it. Though weapons may form, as we yield to Him, we see Him working all things for our good! [Romans 8:28]. This reminds me of Joseph in Genesis 50:20:
“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”
We may never know all the reasons why God allows certain situations to come our way, especially in the midst of it. I do believe, however, that we gain insight as we obey. His purposes may not always feel good, but we can always believe that He is working it for our good! His Word is true. Our responsibility is to trust Him and obey. This process won’t always be easy, but just like anything else, the more we do it, the more mature we become, and ultimately, the more that we are conformed. Conformed to the image of His perfect and holy Son, which we know is His ultimate will for us all [Romans 8:29].
So, no matter the manner in which it occurs, may we learn to see His purposes in the midst of our pains, and learn to trust Him, yield to Him, and do things His way vs. our way. As we do, He will empower us to overcome the emotional attacks that we face.
With love,
Read Why Do We Fight?
