Dealing with Emotions
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feeling or the inclination but with the known will of our Father which
is in heaven. Follow and obey the leadings of the Holy Spirit.—Lt
135, 1898.
Talk of God’s Power—When someone asks how you are feeling,
do not try to think of something mournful to tell in order to gain
sympathy. Do not talk of your lack of faith and your sorrows and
sufferings. The tempter delights to hear such words. When talking on
gloomy subjects, you are glorifying him. We are not to dwell on the
great power of Satan to overcome us. Often we give ourselves into his
hands by talking of his power.
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Let us talk instead of the great power of God to bind up all our
interests with His own. Tell of the matchless power of Christ and speak
of His glory. All heaven is interested in our salvation. The angels of
God, thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand,
are commissioned to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation.
They guard us against evil and press back the powers of darkness that
are seeking our destruction. Have we not reason to be thankful every
moment, thankful even when there are apparent difficulties in our
pathway?—
The Ministry of Healing, 253, 254
(1905).
Do Not Talk of Negative Feelings—If you do not feel lighthearted
and joyous, do not talk of your feelings. Cast no shadow upon the lives
of others. A cold, sunless religion never draws souls to Christ. It drives
them away from Him into the nets that Satan has spread for the feet of
the straying. Instead of thinking of your discouragements, think of the
power you can claim in Christ’s name. Let your imagination take hold
upon things unseen. Let your thoughts be directed to the evidences of
the great love of God for you. Faith can endure trial, resist temptation,
bear up under disappointment. Jesus lives as our Advocate. All is ours
that His mediation secures.—
The Ministry of Healing, 488
(1905).
Smiles and Cheerful Words—If we look on the bright side of
things, we shall find enough to make us cheerful and happy. If we
give smiles, they will be returned to us; if we speak pleasant, cheerful
words, they will be spoken to us again.
When Christians appear as gloomy and depressed as though they
thought themselves friendless, they give a wrong impression of reli-
gion. In some cases the idea has been entertained that cheerfulness
is inconsistent with the dignity of Christian character; but this all is