Your Emotions Serve a Purpose
By Rick Warren
“The most important commandment is this . . . ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’” Mark 12:29-30 (NLT)
Jesus says God doesn’t want you to just kind of love him. He wants you to love him passionately—"with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (Mark 12:29-30).
Do you hear the emotion in the words of Jesus? He wants more than your head knowledge. He wants an emotional relationship with you.
Here are some things you need to understand about emotions:
God has emotions. Yes, God is emotional. He feels joy, grief, anger, and pain. He even feels hatred toward sin. You have emotions, too, because you’re made in God’s image. If God wasn’t an emotional God, you wouldn’t have any emotions.
Your ability to feel is a gift from God. Emotions make you human. Your emotional ability allows you to love and create. Your emotions help you to be faithful, loyal, kind, and generous. Your emotions help you experience all the feelings that are attached to the good things in life. Your emotions may not always seem like a gift, but even negative emotions have a purpose.
There are two emotional extremes to avoid. One extreme is emotionalism. Emotionalism says the only thing that matters in life is how you feel—not what you think or what’s right or wrong. With emotionalism, everything in life is based on your emotions; emotions control your life.
The other extreme is stoicism. Stoicism says feelings aren’t important at all, and the only things that matter are your intellect and your will. Christians who follow this approach downplay their emotions.
The truth is, God gave you your emotions for a reason. And he wants you to worship him with all your heart as well as your mind, soul, and strength.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Be Encouraged Each Day to Live Out God’s Purposes
As thanks for your gift below to help share the gospel with more people around the world through Daily Hope, we’ll send you Pastor Rick’s new book, Daily Hope Devotional: 365 Days of Purpose, Peace, and Promise.
Each devotional starts out with a Bible verse, followed by teaching that explains God’s Word and shows you how to apply it daily so you can face any challenge and live the life you were created to live.
As a special bonus when you give, we’ll also send you What's Driving Your Life?: A 10-Day Turnaround for a Fresh Start. Featuring 10 hand-picked devotions from Pastor Rick’s new book, they’ll guide anyone feeling stressed, worried, or discouraged toward seeking God for a fresh start.
Request your copy below when you give—and take the first step towards a year of real purpose, lasting peace, and unfailing promises.
Thank you for your partnership!
*The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of materials you received from Daily Hope.
This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.