The Cry of the Soul

1. Emotions reveal our deepest questions about God

Emotions are the language of the soul. They are the cry that gives the heart a voice.

Emotional intelligence in faith. Our emotions, particularly the difficult ones, serve as windows into our deepest questions about God's nature and His involvement in our lives. They are not merely reactions to circumstances but reflect our underlying beliefs and struggles with divine realities.

• Anger often questions God's justice
• Fear challenges our trust in His protection
• Jealousy and envy reveal doubts about His goodness
• Despair tests our hope in His presence

By acknowledging and exploring these emotions, rather than suppressing them, we open ourselves to a deeper, more authentic relationship with God. This process of emotional honesty can lead to spiritual growth and a more profound understanding of both ourselves and the divine.

2. The Psalms provide a voice for our emotional struggles

The Psalms mirror the human soul. We look into them, and we see ourselves.

Biblical emotional authenticity. The Psalms offer a divinely inspired template for expressing the full range of human emotions to God. They demonstrate that it is not only acceptable but beneficial to bring our raw, unfiltered feelings before the Creator.

Key aspects of the Psalms' emotional authenticity:

• They express joy, anger, fear, doubt, and despair
• They model honest questioning of God's ways
• They ultimately lead to trust and praise, even amidst difficulty

By studying and praying through the Psalms, believers can find language for their own emotional struggles and learn to integrate their feelings into a mature faith. This practice can lead to greater emotional and spiritual wholeness, as we learn to bring every aspect of our being into communion with God.

3. Anger reflects our battle with God's justice

Unrighteous anger dulls the pain of desperation and aggressively demands justice; since God fails to protect us, we are justified in taking matters into our own hands.

Transforming anger. Anger often stems from a sense of injustice and a desire for control. When directed at God, it reveals our struggle with His timing and methods of establishing justice in the world.

Steps to transform unrighteous anger:

1. Acknowledge the underlying pain and desire for justice
2. Bring these feelings honestly before God
3. Seek to understand God's perspective on justice and timing
4. Channel anger into constructive action aligned with God's purposes

By wrestling with our anger before God, we can move from demanding immediate justice to trusting in His ultimate righteousness. This process can lead to a more mature faith that combines passion for justice with patience and trust in God's sovereignty.

4. Fear exposes our trust issues with God's protection

Fear distorts our sense of reality. Our enemies seem huge and all-powerful. We seem weak, inadequate, and alone. And God? He is nowhere to be found.

Cultivating godly fear. Fear often reveals our lack of trust in God's protection and provision. It exposes our tendency to rely on our own strength or earthly securities rather than on God's faithfulness.

Transforming fear into trust:

• Acknowledge fears honestly before God
• Recall past instances of God's faithfulness
• Meditate on Scripture promises of God's presence and protection
• Practice surrendering control to God in small, daily situations

The goal is not to eliminate all fear, but to cultivate a healthy "fear of the Lord" – a reverent awe that puts all other fears into perspective. This godly fear becomes a source of wisdom and confidence, allowing us to face life's challenges with courage grounded in God's unchanging character.

5. Jealousy and envy unveil our doubts about God's goodness

Jealousy is a divine trait. But it can also be a legitimate human emotion.

Redeeming possessive emotions. Jealousy and envy reveal our doubts about God's goodness and provision in our lives. They stem from a sense of lack and a fear that God might bless others while withholding from us.

Distinguishing between types of jealousy:

• Unhealthy jealousy: Possessive, mistrustful, based on insecurity
• Godly jealousy: Protective of sacred relationships, reflective of God's passion for His people

Steps to transform jealousy and envy:

1. Identify the root desire behind the emotion
2. Bring that desire honestly before God
3. Trust in God's goodness and unique plan for your life
4. Cultivate gratitude for God's blessings, both in your life and others'

By wrestling with these emotions, we can move from a scarcity mindset to one of abundance, trusting in God's goodness and provision for all His children.

6. Despair challenges our hope in God's presence

Despair is a flight from desire; it is a refusal to embrace loss as a deepening of the hollowness that makes more room for God.

From despair to hope. Despair often arises from a sense of God's absence or indifference to our suffering. It challenges our hope in His presence and goodness.

Stages of transforming despair:

1. Acknowledge the pain and sense of abandonment
2. Lament honestly before God, following the Psalms' example
3. Remember past experiences of God's faithfulness
4. Look for signs of God's presence in unexpected places
5. Cultivate community to support and encourage faith

The journey through despair, while painful, can lead to a deeper, more resilient hope. This hope is not based on circumstances but on the unchanging character of God. It allows us to find meaning and purpose even in the midst of suffering, knowing that God is working to redeem all things.

7. Contempt masks our struggle with God's love

Contempt smells kindness, grace, and compassion and turns up its nose in disgust.

Overcoming relational barriers. Contempt often serves as a defense mechanism, masking our deep-seated struggles with receiving and giving love. When directed towards God or others, it reveals our difficulty in accepting grace and compassion.

Roots of contempt:

• Fear of vulnerability
• Past experiences of rejection or betrayal
• Struggle with self-worth

Steps to transform contempt:

1. Recognize contempt as a signal of deeper emotional issues
2. Explore the underlying fears and hurts
3. Risk vulnerability in safe relationships
4. Meditate on God's unconditional love and acceptance
5. Practice extending grace to others and oneself

By addressing contempt, we open ourselves to experiencing the fullness of God's love and developing healthier relationships with others. This process can lead to greater emotional wholeness and a more authentic expression of faith.

8. Shame exposes our idolatry and need for God's grace

Shame is not primarily an experience of feeling bad or deficient as it is the exposure of foolish trust in a god who is not God.

From shame to grace. Shame goes beyond guilt over specific actions to a deep sense of unworthiness and defectiveness. Biblically understood, it exposes our tendency to trust in false gods (idols) rather than in the true God.

Aspects of transforming shame:

• Recognize shame as a signal of misplaced trust
• Identify and renounce false gods (e.g., perfectionism, approval, success)
• Embrace vulnerability before God and trusted others
• Meditate on God's unconditional love and acceptance
• Practice receiving and extending grace

The journey from shame to grace involves a radical reorientation of trust – from self or other created things to the Creator God. As we learn to root our identity in God's love rather than our performance or others' opinions, we experience true freedom and wholeness.

9. God uses mysterious methods to draw us closer

Part of the mystery of God is His disruptive intrusion to provide us with what we desperately desire, not what we think we require.

Divine paradoxes. God often works in ways that seem counterintuitive or even painful to draw us into deeper relationship with Him. His methods may include:

• Silence: When God seems unresponsive to provoke deeper seeking
• Absence: Allowing a sense of abandonment to intensify desire for His presence
• Struggle: Permitting difficulties to reveal our need for Him

These experiences, while challenging, serve to:

1. Expose our idols and false dependencies
2. Deepen our hunger for authentic relationship with God
3. Reveal aspects of God's character we might otherwise miss

By embracing these mysterious methods rather than resisting them, we open ourselves to profound spiritual growth and a more intimate knowledge of God's heart.

10. God's goodness is revealed through our emotional struggles

God wants us to adore Him, dance with Him, eat, drink, and sing with Him in the experience of His awesome, glorious love.

Emotional transformation. Our emotional struggles, when brought honestly before God, become the very means by which we experience His goodness and love more deeply. This process of emotional engagement with God leads to:

• Greater authenticity in faith
• Deeper understanding of God's character
• Increased capacity for joy and intimacy with God

Steps in the journey:

1. Acknowledge and express emotions honestly to God
2. Listen for God's perspective in Scripture and prayer
3. Allow emotions to be transformed by God's truth and presence
4. Experience deeper levels of God's love and goodness

The ultimate goal is not the absence of difficult emotions, but their redemption as part of a vibrant, authentic relationship with God. Through this process, we come to know God not just intellectually, but experientially, in the fullness of His goodness and love.

Last updated: November 19, 2024