Ups & Downs

David used his gift of writing to express his feelings. God gave us emotions and feelings so that we can express ourselves but he also calls us not to sin in those emotions. Like anger, it is not a sin to be angry, but the Bible does say not sin in your anger. It is a sin to have hatred in your heart because of your anger. See how that works, you can be sad but you should not let bitterness develop because of your sadness.

God created us as human beings and to have feelings but we have to control them, when we are sad, we need to mourn and cry. When we are frustrated, we can yell out to our Heavenly Father, and when we are happy, rejoice and praise Him!

In 1 Peter 1:6&7 it says,"So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trial for a little while. These trials will show you that you faith is genuine, it is being tested as fire tests and purifies fold-- though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus is revealed to the whole world" (NLT)

Wow, what an awesome reward we are promised for enduring trials. Life is a constant struggle. It is filled with different trials and difficulties. If you are not in a struggle now, you just got out of one and if you're in one now, soon you will find peace.

The Bible says God understands the emotional life we live, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize without weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are--yet is without sin. Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." -Hebrew 4:15 & 16

See Jesus knows exactly how hard is it to be us sometimes. We can always come to him and share what we are going through knowing he will have mercy and give us the love or comfort or discipline we need!

How do you handle your emotions? Do you write or read? Maybe you exercise, play an instrument or talk to friends. David expressed his greatest joys, failures, angers, and all the ups and downs of his life in the book of Psalm. It is like reading a journal really, his everyday prayers and feelings written for the world to read.

Write your own Psalm today. Whether you are rejoicing, worshipping, crying, angry, scared, or confused, try to create your own emotional prayer to God in writing. You will be amazed at how close to Him you feel and what a release you feel. This is a beautiful way to grow in your relationship with your Lord.

Leave your Psalm as a comment if you really feel led!