In the popular Pixar movie "Inside Out" the main character is a young girl named Riley. The movie depicts Riley being controlled by the various emotions inside her head. Inside Out humorously shows how the different emotions such as joy, anger, fear, and disgust compete for control over Riley and influence her actions. The movie highlights just how powerful our emotions can be. We all can remember times in our lives when our emotions seemed to grip us so tightly that we were consumed by our feelings. For myself, the feelings of joy and happiness were maybe never greater than when I was standing at the altar ready to marry my wife and when our two children were born. I can also recall times in my life when I have been so angry or frustrated with either myself or others that I could hardly think about anything else. During those times I didn't want to feel the way I was feeling, but the emotions seemed to be so strong that my individual efforts to change them would often come up empty.
I have also observed the power of emotions in the life of others. I have observed people say things they regret, engage in harmful activities, enter into toxic relationships, and even severely damage once healthy relationships when strong emotions led to regretful choices. While emotions never make us do or say something, they are often the leading catalyst for some of the decisions we regret the most. Emotions themselves aren’t a bad thing, they were given to us from God and they can and ought to be used in fulfilling our purpose, which is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
In the book of Lamentations, the author (who many believe to be the prophet Jeremiah) is reflecting on the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587/6 BC. Chapter three is the longest chapter in the book, and in the beginning of the chapter the author is passionately describing his feelings towards God about the events he witnessed. He uses descriptive poetic language to describe his strong emotional state. The author is distraught and depressed as he observes not only his current situation, but that of the nation of Israel. In the first 20 verses the author struggles to see where God could be present in this perceived hopeless situation. God has “broken his bones”, “made his paths crooked”, “pierced his heart”, and “broken his teeth”. While the author understands God’s people are being judged for their actions, his hyperbolic language demonstrates his emotional response to his Heavenly Father who seems to be absent during such trying times.
Everything changes with the six words penned in verse 21 of the same chapter. “Yet this I call to mind” the author exclaims after twenty verses of despair and hopelessness. The author chooses to activate his mind rather than letting his negative emotions control his response to his Heavenly Father. The “this” he calls to mind is the totality of his situation, and the love and grace that God has shown him and his people. He calls to mind the faithfulness that God has shown him and the nation of Israel in spite of their unfaithfulness to God. The “this” he calls to mind is that God’s purposes extend beyond the short time here on earth for he states “salvation belongs to the Lord”. The author calls to mind, “the Lord is good to those who hope is in him” and the Lord’s love and compassion are not bound by earthly circumstances. He remembers or calls to mind the sovereignty of the Lord as he says, “who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?” These same truths the author speaks about are still true today. Oftentimes our problem is we are too busy, too distracted, or too emotional to pause and call these truths to mind.
When we neglect to call to mind these essential truths about our Heavenly Father our faith can be weakened. CS Lewis gives the following example to illustrate his point. When reflecting on his experience with anesthetics and surgery he remarks, “My reason is perfectly convinced by good evidence that anesthetics do not smother me, and that properly trained surgeons do not start operating until I am unconscious.” But he notes how his imagination and emotions soon push back against what reason tells him: “That does not alter the fact that when they have me down on the table and clap their horrible mask over my face, a mere childish panic begins inside me … In other words, I lose my faith in anesthetics.” Consequently, “It is not reason that is taking away my faith: on the contrary, my faith is based on reason … The battle is between faith and reason on one side and emotion and imagination on the other.” This is at times a trying battle for all of us. Unchecked emotions can at times cloud our reasoning abilities and lead to unwise decisions and sometimes crippling anxiety.
So would we be willing to call to mind the truths of who we are and who God is? Remember emotions themselves are not a bad thing, they are part of the image of God inside of us. When we first choose to call to mind the things of God, it will not leave us emotionless but will actually increase the healthy emotions that assist in deepening our relationship with our Heavenly Father. When King David calls to mind the forgiveness of the Lord in Psalm 32 he remarks, “Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.” The author of Lamentations calls to mind the goodness of God with an anticipation of redemption for him and God’s people. We however have a clear picture of what that redemption looks like though the gospel message. The great hymn writer Isaac Watts said it best in the classic hymn When I Survey the Wonderous Cross;
See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?
