“May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless.” Galatians 3:15
People are not the same emotionally; however, it was God who created us with emotions as part of His design. Healthy emotions are tools to help us to communicate from a deeper place, to experience a fuller life, to connect with one another, to motivate ourselves and others, and to be grounded and advance in passionate values.
We need to understand God created us as a spirit being, possessing a soul and a body. The soul is made up of our mind, our will or want-to, and our emotions. When we become born again, the spirit is immediately changed from sinful to righteous. However, the body and the soul do not; it’s a process of change.
Jesus came to make us whole in spirit, soul, and body. He may need to bring wholeness to our body in the way of healing. He may need to change our want-to, our will. He may need to renew our thinking to line up with His Word. He may need to bring wholeness to our emotions – to restore us so our emotions function properly, the way He designed us.
As we mature spiritually, we will get our body and soul to line up with God. One sign of an immature or carnal Christian is the inability to keep emotions from dominating us. The good news is that we can grow!
Galatians 5:22-23 give us characteristics of a spiritually mature Christian. These characteristics include qualities of emotions health. They are: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When you look for spiritual maturity, watch for these characteristics. Also look for someone that is moved from their spirit, not simply from emotions, even if those emotions are good. We are to be Spirit-led, not soul led.
God wants us to be WHOLE in our SOUL. God will show us if our emotions are broken, weakened, or dysfunctional. He offers healing, strengthening, and a renewing to His design.
Application: When we’ve been hurt or damaged, we often go into a protection mode and close up those parts of our life where the wound occurred. However, if we want healing, we need to trust the love of God and allow Him to touch those unhealthy places with His power. Even though some people can help us with our growth, only God can make us whole. If this is you, I encourage you to get into a quiet place with God and let Him wash over you with His love and healing.