Read: Galatians 5:16-26
Meditation verse:
“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city (Proverbs 16:32).
Emotions are powerful, but they are not always reliable. They are instinctive or intuitive responses—often not based on reason or truth. Emotions are fleeting, subjective, and contagious. The fact that you feel afraid doesn’t necessarily mean there is something fearful in your life.
Likewise, feelings of hopelessness do not confirm a hopeless future. Emotions reflect perception, not always reality.
In psychology, the ABC model explains behaviour in terms of three components: A – Activating Event, B – Beliefs about the event, and C – Consequences (emotional and behavioural responses).
This model reveals that it’s not the event itself that determines how we respond, but our beliefs about the event. Our thoughts influence our emotions, and our emotions influence our actions—and ultimately, our outcomes.
Consider this: Two women lose their jobs on the same day. One thinks, “This is my chance to finally launch the business I’ve dreamed about.” The other thinks, “This is the end. I’m a failure.”. Which one is more likely to move forward with hope and success?
Clearly, the one who interprets the setback as an opportunity rather than a defeat. The Bible warns us against reacting purely from emotion. “The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression” (Proverbs 19:11). Ecclesiastes 7:10 also advises, “Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.”
God knows that we are emotional beings, but He calls us to be spirit-led, not emotion-driven. Galatians 5:16 urges us to “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” The fruit of the Spirit includes self-control—a divine ability to regulate our emotions and reactions.
Scripture also reminds us that life is not always for us to fully understand: “A man’s steps are of the Lord; how then can a man understand his own way?” (Proverbs 20:24) “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23).
IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye
Founder: The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM)
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