Emotional Freedom – Inviting Our Emotions to Become Tools for Positive Transformation

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Over 40 million adults are diagnosed with some type of anxiety disorder, including panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and generalized anxiety.¹  Anxiety disorders are the number one mental health problem among women in the U.S. and statistics show that every one of us will struggle with depression at some point in our lives or walk alongside a friend or family member who has. 

While there are biological and environmental factors that influence our emotions, we can take practical steps to manage them so they don’t lead to long-term health issues.  The presence of daily stressors may be unavoidable, but we can control how we respond to them.  We can’t eliminate hardships, but we can choose not to be consumed by them.  Much of our anxiety stems from the way we react to our circumstances and our tendency to overthink the past or future, rather than focus on the present.

I know because I’ve been there.  Having struggled with anxiety myself, I would get lost in the weeds of worry, over analyzing, and living in the past.  One day on the radio, I heard the announcer say, “You can either worry or you can trust God, but you can’t do both at the same time.”  That stuck with me. 

Worry, fear, anger, frustration, and other emotions are not “bad” in and of themselves – it’s what we do with them that matters.  When we fixate on them and allow them to control us, we become restless, irritable, and emotionally fatigued.  We may have difficulty concentrating, staying or falling asleep, or even suffer from panic attacks.  When we begin to view our emotions as catalysts to grow closer to God and better understand ourselves, they can actually become tools for positive transformation.

Emotional freedom refers to the ability to liberate ourselves from being victims to our emotions.  What we focus on grows, so without coping strategies to redirect negative thoughts, they will spread like unrestrained weeds, depleting all the nutrients from the soil until there’s nothing left to produce good, Godly fruit.  Those who lack emotional freedom get lost in the weeds, which impedes their relationships and ability to lead a God-shaped life.²  Those who cultivate emotional freedom “tend to their gardens” – that is, they take responsibility for trimming their weeds back so they can focus on things that are true, pure, and praiseworthy (Phil 4:8).

As men and women of Christ, we have a responsibility to tend to our gardens, tame our emotions, and “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor 10:5).  I, by no means, have mastered this, but here are a few strategies that are helping me:

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1. CULTIVATE A STATE OF MINDFUL AWARENESS.

Being mindfully aware means that we can recognize what we are feeling, accept responsibility for how we are feeling, and take control of our emotions before they take control of us.  It’s more than thinking, “I feel overwhelmed,” and just accepting the fact that we feel that way because our life is jam-packed with commitments, responsibilities, and never-ending to-do-lists.  It’s about taking a moment to pause, name what we are feeling, and embrace the reality of why we feel that way. 

That last part – why we feel that way – requires time, prayer (Psalm 139:23-24), and a whole lot of honesty.  Our first tendency is almost always to point the finger, blaming our emotions on our surroundings and/or making excuses for them.  I know, because I’ve done this too, and God revealed to me that this stems from pride, which must be “pruned” if we are to be transformed into His likeness. 

On the opposite end of the spectrum is insecurity, shifting all the blame onto ourselves, but not taking responsibility for ourselves.  This shows up in lies such as “I’m a mess,” or “I’m a failure,” which attack the person without addressing the problem.  The key is to invite the undesired emotion to spur the desired response and positive change.²  This occurs in time as we practice mindful awareness – pausing, naming the emotion, and going to God in prayer.  The more we invite our emotions to help us understand ourselves through prayer and insightful reflection, the more we grow and move toward a state of emotional freedom.

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2. INVITE OUR EMOTIONS TO BECOME TOOLS FOR POSITIVE TRANSFORMATION.

Rather than accept how we are feeling as the status quo or refuse to feel the negative emotion by numbing it, we can choose to transform it by taking it captive and making it obedient to Christ  (2 Corinthians 10:5).  The more we are in God’s Word, the better we become able to do this and process our emotions in a healthy way. 

In the moment we feel scared, we can recall that God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7); therefore, we can choose to take hold of that and exhibit courage.  In the moment we feel lonely, we can remember that, even when we feel alone, God is with us (Deuteronomy 31:6), He hears our prayers, and He has our best interest at heart (Romans 8:28).  Knowing this, we can choose to lean on Christ for comfort and companionship, as well as engage in community.  If we believe God’s Word is true, then we can trust we’ve been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, Who works in us and through us for the good of each one of us.  Through His power, we can replace frustration with patience, anger with compassion, and worry with peace.  Partnered with God, our emotions become tools for personal growth and lead us toward emotional and spiritual maturity.

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While there are biological changes that occur with our emotions, such as increased blood pressure and cortisol levels, there is also a psychological and a spiritual component.³  When we train our minds to become more aware (physiological) and use prayer as a vehicle to transform negative thoughts into positive ones (spiritual), we can actually reverse the biological symptoms associated with those emotions.  Let’s look at an example.

The overwhelmed mom who feels her body temperature rising, her blood pressure increasing, and is on the brink of “losing it,” can choose to Stop, Pause, and Pray – taking a break from what she’s doing, breathing and naming her emotion, and praying for what she needs (e.g. self-control).  This simple practice centers her and calms her emotions so her blood pressure and body temperature return to normal.  It enables her to rise above what she’s feeling, learn from it, and even benefit as a result of it. 

In bringing herself to a place of mindful awareness, she learns to identify what she is feeling and the triggers that lead to that emotion.  In identifying her triggers, she is able to develop proactive strategies to sidestep them and coping mechanisms for transforming “overwhelmed” into positive action.  In embracing her state of “overwhelmed” and redirecting it to a place of growth, she is able to stay focused and in control even when her situation seems out of control by training her mind to think differently.⁴  We can do this too.

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In my life, I’m learning that, while we can’t control what other people say and do, we can choose not to take things personally or respond defensively.  (This is a hard one for me, but I am continuously inviting God to be my Defender and reminding myself that His Word – not the world’s – is the Voice of Truth.)  I’m learning that we can’t control our circumstances, but we can choose how we respond to them.  There is tremendous power in our response.

Understanding that hurt people hurt people and responding with compassion can dissolve an argument rather than escalate it.  Choosing forgiveness and extending the grace that God gives us to others can help transform our hurt into healing and lead to further reconciliation.  Recognizing that feeling overwhelmed is not God’s design, but a sign that we’ve taken on too much or have unrealistic expectations encourages us to step back, reflect, and consider what we might do differently rather than lash out at others. 

I’m not saying any of this is easy, but if it weren’t, we wouldn’t need God.  He wants us to depend on Him, trust His plan, and invite the Holy Spirit to help us live beyond our own capabilities.  Rather than allow negative emotions to take up permanent residence in our minds, we can point them to the door and transform them with God’s truth.  When we do this, we become emotionally and spiritually free in Christ.

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“You were indeed called to be free, brothers and sisters. Don’t turn this freedom into an excuse for your corrupt nature to express itself.  Rather, serve each other through love…Live your life as your spiritual nature directs you. Then you will never follow through on what your corrupt nature wants…

Now, the effects of the corrupt nature are obvious…hatred, rivalry, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambition, conflict, factions, envy…and similar things…But the spiritual nature produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their corrupt nature along with its passions and desires. If we live by our spiritual nature, then our lives need to conform to our spiritual nature.”  (Galatians 5:13,16,19-25 GW)

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Call to Action:  What thoughts or emotions do you need to “take captive” and make “obedient to Christ” so you can live by the spirit and pursue a God-shaped life?  How might you apply the strategies shared here to invite negative thoughts and emotions to become tools for positive transformation?

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Looking for More Information?  Take the quiz, “Are You Emotionally Free?” to assess your level of emotional freedom and/or check out these resources below to grow in this area:

Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind by Joyce Meyer
Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life by Judith Orloff
Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruits of the Spirit by Beth Moore

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References:

1. Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA). (2016, August).  Facts and Statistics.  Retrieved March 8, 2017 from https://www.adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics.
2. Oroff, Judith, M.D. (2009). Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life. New York, NY.  Three Rivers Press.
3. Orloff, Judith, M.D.  Positive Energy Emotional Freedom Package.  Retrieved May 8, 2017 from http://www.drjudithorloff.com/ef-gifts/positive-energy-emotional-freedom-package.pdf.
4. TerKeurst, Lysa.  (2012).Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions.  Grand Rapids, MI.  Zondervan.
5. Meyer, Joyce. (1995). Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind. New York, NY.  Faith Words.
6. Moore, Beth. (1998). Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit. Nashville, TN: LifeWay Press.