Disciple your emotions

In the past the word "disciple"  has never came off to have a warm meaning to me.  I have never viewed it in a negative way. I am a disciple of Christ and I believe in discipleship.  But the statement of "disciple your emotions" has been popping up in my mind for at least a month now.  I thought I would explore it.  As this popped up in my mind, it started to have a warmer tone to it.  Think about it:  Which one sounds gentler: "Discipline your emotions" or "Disciple your emotions".  I believe we are suppose to disciple our emotions by taking them gently and leading them into to the light of God's word everyday.

We have so many ways of dealing with our emotions.  We hide them, we resist them, we dislike them, when they are positive we embrace them.  But we hide, resist, and dislike when they are not positive.  I don't think we should.  I think we should explore our emotions even when they are negative.  Ask yourself why you feel "some kind of way".  and wait quietly for answers.  Don't allow your emotions to make you anxious.  Don't be afraid of them either.  Scripture is a refuge in which you can explore your emotions.  Figure out how your feeling.  Many times it will be a pointer towards how to disciple your emotions at that time:  Look at the scripture below:

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
⁸ For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear^[b] when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

The scriptures above have been great for helping me disciple my emotions.  There are times where I look at a scripture like this and realize that I feel confined instead of spread out.  I feel parched and thirsty instead of feeling like I have a constant water supply.  Scripture can give you a description for your emotions whether good or bad.  When I feel confined, desperate,  and anxious that means I'm currently not trusting in God.  That doesn't mean that I don't trust God, it just means that I am struggling in certain areas with it.  This scripture is so great because it tells me that all I must do is turn my attention back to God and trust Him again.  It points my desire back towards refreshing and peace,  which turns me away from trying to produce my own results.  It reminds me that, it is through trusting God that I will be fruitful and successful in life.  When you disciple your emotions, it's just a gentle way of exploring what you are feeling through the bible and then guiding your desires by reading God's good desires for you.   


Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength,
Whose heart departs from the Lord.
⁶ For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,
And shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
In a salt land which is not inhabited.

I'm a Christian but, at times, I can still find myself in a dry and thirsty place and even though I'm saved, so I'm not cursed.  I know that I have found myself feeling dry and thirsty because in some area I have started to rely on myself and I am not trusting God.  I know that the description of  "dry", "thirsty", "deserted" are indicative of a place where God does not want me.  Below is where God wants me:


Psalm Chapter 1
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
    Nor stands in the path of sinners,
    Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
² But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    And in His law he meditates day and night.
³ He shall be like a tree
    Planted by the rivers of water,
    That brings forth its fruit in its season,
    Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

Be Blessed and Peaceful today