Controlling Our Emotions

 

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

—John 14:1

 

 

On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus spoke these words to his disciples, urging them not to be troubled in their hearts. In the previous verse, John 13:38, Jesus had just told Peter that he would deny him three times before the rooster crowed the next morning. Nevertheless, despite this devastating news, Jesus encouraged Peter and the other disciples not to allow their hearts to be troubled.

 

We are truly the subject of John 14:1. It is up to us to take control of our hearts. It is God’s power that makes this possible, but we must choose to rely on God’s ability. How do we accomplish this? The rest of this verse tells us how: “Believe in God, and believe in me.” In other words, have faith in God. Faith is how we overcome our emotions.

 

Jesus’ instruction to his disciples underscores the authority we hold over our emotions, even in the most difficult situations. It would have been unfair for the Lord to direct His disciples to do something beyond their capabilities. We, too, can control our emotions, regardless of our situation.

 

The fact that Jesus emphasized controlling our emotions at the beginning of this verse is crucial. When we allow our emotions to run wild, they become almost impossible to manage. It is easier to control them in their initial stages rather than after they have been expressed. During a crisis, reining in our emotions should be our top priority. Depending on how we handle our feelings, most battles are won or lost in the first few seconds.

 

“Let not your heart be troubled” is the Lord’s truth for you. You have control over your heart. You choose not to let your emotions overwhelm you. You can focus on the Lord and surrender any feelings that come up. Circumstances and the opinions of others have no power to worry you unless you allow them to pull you away from the Lord and His Word. 

 

The Lord will keep everyone in perfect peace who trusts in Him—all whose thoughts are fixed on Him (Isaiah 26:3). This means it is our responsibility to ensure our hearts are not troubled. Jesus has given us His peace. However, to prevent our hearts from being troubled, we must accept His peace by faith. 

 

The disciples believed in Jesus deeply enough to be completely shattered when He died. However, they didn’t trust Him enough to believe what He told them about His resurrection (Matthew 16:21). Jesus clearly stated in John 16:1 that He expressed these things so that His disciples would not be upset. Yet, His words didn’t help them because they didn’t mix His words with faith (Hebrews 4:2). The disciples had enough faith to be distressed over failure, but not enough to achieve victory. 

 

To overcome the emotions that keep us trapped in the grave, we must fully believe in God rather than only partially believing in Him. When we understand that, regardless of how dire our situation may be, we have nothing to fear, we can rein in our emotions and refuse to let them control us.

 

The Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts, reminding us not to be troubled. We must believe in God, as faith is the victory that overcomes the world and all its troubles (1 John 5:4). By placing our faith in the Lord and His Word, we will walk in victory.

 

 

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