This is the second in our series on Christians and emotions. (Part 1 and Part 3 are here.)
Both the title and much of the content of this article are borrowed from Ron Horton’s
excellent book, Mood Tides: Divine Purpose in the Rhythms of Life ($9 on Amazon). Buy it. Read it.
One of my favorite stories growing up was about a boy with a magic ball of thread. The thread would slowly—very slowly—unravel by itself. If he pulled it just a little, time would leap forward, so he was determined not to touch it. Predictably, waiting was too hard—first his wedding, then the birth of his child. Hardship came and a few small tugs shortened the pain. This went on through his life until the ball of thread was astonishingly small and there was nothing left to pull. As you would expect, he realized, all too late, that waiting and difficulties are a beautiful part of life as much as the joys, and he regretted all the life he had wasted.
Everybody wants to avoid pain. We’ve even institutionalized it—“good Christians,” we sometimes assume, don’t get depressed or struggle with their emotions. Here’s an [only somewhat caricatured] picture of how we sometimes think about problems:
But in the process, aren’t we missing something? By trying to stay on the happy train all the time, are we just wishing our lives away? Or to say it theologically, are we negating God’s good purpose for huge aspect of our lives? Emotional cycles are normal—they’re even good. So why don’t we view all components of life as divinely intended?
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Life on a fallen planet will always includes pain.
Who wouldn’t want a life that always felt good without cloud, tears or sorrows? But I think we intuitively realize that this isn’t reality. Post-Eden, life doesn’t work that way. In fact, if every day was “glory, glory,” our emotions would be completely out of whack with reality. Even Jesus didn’t live that way. So long as you’re a sinner in a sinful world, you will experience pain.
I don’t blame anyone for seeking joy. But in the ultimate example of pulling the ball of thread to hurry things up, are we trying to bring in “God shall wipe away every tear” before He Himself has chosen to do it?
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Down times prepare us for ministry (2 Cor. 1).
Paul was glad (his words, not mine) for his sorrow because he could then help others in difficulty. That’s because the most helpful counselors when you’re sorrowing have been through valleys themselves and know not to slap a quick verse or cliché answer on the problem. You aren’t alone in suffering—don’t forget the crowd of people you’ll minister to for the rest of your life.
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Find the divinely-intended purpose for both joy and grief.
Rather than try impossibly to live in a perpetual high, what if we embraced the various states our lives bring us? What if we recognized divine purpose in the cycle of changing emotions we experience?
For everything there is a season… a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance (Eccl. 3:1,4).Times of joy are opportunities for praise and gratitude. Low times draw us to prayer, dependence, and increased longing for eternity. So rather than resist reality, live out the divine purposes!
And while you are, recognize that emotional changes bring accompanying temptations. Times of joy can bring pride, self-sufficiency or satisfaction with earth. Conversely, grief can bring despair, doubt, or discontent.
Your calling, therefore, is not to control your circumstances or turn inward on your feelings. Rather, respond rightly in each moment, choosing hope over despair, gratitude over pride, prayer over doubt. When you recognize divinely-intended purposes for your emotions, you’re more prepared to respond biblically. It is not up to us to choose our circumstances or our state. But in every emotional state, ours is the choice how to respond.
In the fairy-tale version, the old man with the magic yarn awakes to find himself a boy again—the worn-out “it was just a dream” ending. But in your case, this is no fairy tale. This is your life. You could wish it all away, floating haplessly while you wait for the next “up-wave” to come. But life is about more than riding “up-waves;” God’s purposes encompass more than positive emotional states. Don’t deny or ignore God-given challenges. Purpose to meet them with a God-honoring response.
Today, choose to live out God’s intended purposes for all of life, whatever direction your mood tides are carrying you.
