Turning the Hearts . . . Just Say, "Stop!"

The Bible is full of Scriptures speaking of our emotions. "Be angry and do not sin" (Ephesians 4:26). "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice" (Philippians 4:4). "And He said to them, 'What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?'" (Luke 24:17).

The above scriptures show us that emotions are normal for us to have and display. We see that anger is typical when something is an irritant. Joy is expected at the occasion of something good. Sadness occurs when there are reversals in our lives.

While emotions are natural to us, it's important to note how easy it is to fall prey to the negative ones when we are not on guard.

The last fruit of the Holy Spirit listed in Galatians 5:23 is self-control. This fruit is essential for us to have in order to manage our emotions. God's Spirit gives us soundness of mind (2 Timothy 1:6-7) so that we are not unbalanced in our emotions. Yet at times we do become unbalanced—too angry, too sad, too frivolous. That is when we need to exercise one simple point. Just say, "Stop!" Take a time out and ask yourself what is going on. Take the circumstances out of the emotional range and get some perspective.

Taking a time-out will give you more time to think about the entire situation. Calling a halt to excessive emotions will prevent an emotional situation from further escalating out of control. During this cooling-off period, one can take the time to rebalance emotions and prevent further difficulties.

In your marriage or family life, when your emotions start to get out of control, just say, "Stop!" and ask yourself "What is really going on?" Exercise self-control and ask God to assist you with calming the provoked situation.

Be emotional—but properly so! UN