Previous posts in this series:
Suffering
Choosing Joy

I know that Choosing Joy is not a denial of hardship – it’s a declaration of trust in Jesus. Joy is a supernatural gift from Him, rooted in His grace. The joy of the Lord is our strength! But if joy is more than an emotion, how do emotions fit into all of this?

In my ponderings with the Lord this morning (and through Tim Keller’s writings), He has been reminding me again that we do not deal with suffering by simply suppressing negative emotions – it’s so much deeper than that. We must allow ourselves to feel emotions deeply so that we can release them, entrusting them to the One who can carry them fully.

We feel emotions strongly, but we do not let them dictate our actions or define our faith.

As Tim Keller writes in Walking with God through Pain & Suffering: “Christians do not face adversity by stoically decreasing our love for people and life but by increasing our love and joy in God.”

After all, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). His tears were not a sign of weakness, but of love, compassion, and perfect unity with the Father.

Emotions are a gift from God – important, purposeful, and even able to be used for His glory. Remember, “choosing joy” does not mean ignoring sorrow, nor is it about suppressing emotions. True joy is found in turning to Jesus, entrusting every emotion to Him. He can handle them all.

In times of doubt, sadness, anger, or fear, we must not numb ourselves with sedatives in various forms – trying to distract, suppress, or avoid. Instead, we do not fear emotions. We feel deeply, release freely, and surrender completely to the loving Father…. and then get up and keep moving.

“You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?” (Psalm 56:8).