Hurting Hearts and Struggling Souls - Part 9

God can help troubled emotions by answering prayer and by reminding the believer of faith-sustaining truth found in His Word. Emotions can also be improved through various aspects of one's relationship with God.

First, improvement comes through enjoying God's presence. Believers can experience joy as they commune, fellowship, and walk with God. "You will make him joyful with gladness in Your presence" (21:6).

There is a satisfaction of soul that comes in the presence of God. David declared, "How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You to dwell in Your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple" (65:4). There is satisfaction first as God chooses people and brings them near to Himself. Through salvation, God receives people into His family and allows them to dwell in constant communion with Him. There is satisfaction in remembering the specialness of that intimate relationship. Second, the verse specifically references God's courts and His temple. There is something satisfying in being in the special place that God has chosen for focused communion with Him in the company of other believers. The setting and activities associated with the church bring a satisfaction to the soul that cannot be found in other settings and activities.

David again received joy from God's presence. "Therefore my heart is glad" (16:9). "In Your presence is fullness of joy" (16:11). Some around David had abandoned God or were taking Him lightly, but David did neither. Instead, he deliberately chose to follow God and to value the blessings of God. He deliberately thought about God, with particular focus on God's constant presence. David's joy and gladness came from knowing "I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken" (16:8). He knew that God's presence would never change, but would continue with him through all of life. The earth-experienced joy of God's presence will only increase when that presence is fully enjoyed in heaven.

Second, emotional benefit comes from a consistent focus on God. David states, "He will give you the desires of your heart" (37:4). The heart's gratification comes not through a focus on self or from insisting on personal desires. It is not based on wanting what other people have, in particular the wicked who seem to prosper. Such prosperity is fleeting and quickly disappears. There are far more important and lasting desires that are connected to wanting what God wants. David lists several God-focused heart desires: Trust in the Lord, do good, stay where God has put you, be faithful, delight in God, commit your way to Him, trust in Him, rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him, don't fret, don't be angry. Each of these actions are what God wants His children to do. Instead of sitting around making a list of selfish things they want, Christians ought to maintain a God-ward focus. When they do, God responds by giving the desires of the heart and accomplishing what is needed. The heart gratification accompanies an entire focus of living that wants what God wants and wants to please and trust Him.

Psalm 112 refers to a man whose heart is steady and firm. "His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD" (112:7). "His heart is upheld" (112:8). The key to the steadfast and upheld heart is found in the psalm's theme statement: "How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments" (112:1). The psalm gives an entire list of blessings that such a man experiences; one blessing is a stable heart. The passage contrasts stability with fear. Because the man's heart is steadfast and upheld, he does not fear, even when evil threatens. Three characteristics of this type of man are credited with facilitating the numerous listed blessings. First, he fears the LORD. He reverences God, stands in awe of Him, honors Him, and respects Him. Second, he greatly delights in God's commandments. He takes exceeding pleasure in them and is pleased to do them. Third, he trusts in the LORD. He has confidence in God's ability to take care of him. A man who has dedicated his life to living for God and depending on God will have a heart that does not fear.

A third emotionally beneficial aspect of one's relationship with God is praise. "My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You; and my soul, which You have redeemed" (71:23). The verb phrase from the beginning of the verse, "will shout for joy," is understood to apply to the subject "my soul" just as it does previously for "my lips." What makes this man's soul shout for joy is the same as what makes his lips shout for you: "when I sing praises to You." Singing praises is often the result of joy, but it can also be the producer of joy. At the very least, the two things happen at the same time; they go together. Interestingly, in this psalm the speaker is not naturally in a time of joy. He is in affliction and is still awaiting deliverance. The man is mature, however, in both years and in development. He has been through many hard times in the past; he knows God has always delivered him, and he has praised God. He is in another hard time, and he knows that God will deliver him again, and he intends to once again praise God. Even without seeing the deliverance, he is intent on praising God for the help he knows will come. Both his actual and his intended praise bring joy to his soul.

In concluding this series, I note that emotions are quite changeable and are influenced by many factors. Clearly, God can change emotions for the good, and spiritual input can influence emotion. Even when biological or unavoidable factors contribute to troubling emotions, God's help can make emotions manageable.