Christopher was taught that being anxious is a sin. Many of us learned the same thing in our churches or families growing up.
This misguided theology is sometimes preached directly from the pulpit. This belief could also stem from being raised in a home where emotions were unwelcome and rejected.
All of us carry assumptions and experiences that affect the lens through which we see God, relate to him, and share him with others as missionaries. Thankfully, the Spirit desires to bring healing and freedom through his presence and truth (John 8:32).
This is one reason an “inner journey” is so valuable. It’s a season with Jesus focused on deepening your self-awareness and growing emotionally. Getting in touch with your true feelings creates a spacious place to embrace Jesus’ care.
But we remain fragmented and disconnected from God and others until we learn to be honest. Shutting down our emotions leaves us spiritually dry.
Keep this up for too long, and you’ll eventually become stuck in your faith journey. This is what happened to Christopher. Maybe you relate to his reflection:
“I became an adult and only knew how to repress my ‘negative’ emotions. This looked like reciting Bible verses and working hard to stay positive. I bought a Christian book on anxiety that only reinforced my harshness towards my emotions. Sadly, my rigidity impacted those closest to me.”
Christopher was surprised to discover that the Bible doesn’t discourage our emotions. He was relieved to learn the opposite is true. Let’s take a look, together.
A Theology on Feeling
Many of us misunderstand scriptures that seem to condemn feelings. A great example is Paul’s instruction: “Do not be anxious…” (Philippians 4:6).
These words seem confusing and impossible to understand. But Paul is certainly not putting a heavy burden on us by telling us not to feel. He’s helping us release our burdens by teaching us how to bring our feelings to Jesus.
Looking at the greater context and tone of the passage, Paul is saying something like:
Whenever you feel stressed or worried, talk to God about how you feel, sharing your emotions openly. Don’t pretend to be strong — be vulnerable. Ask for the grace you need and be sure to receive it by being thankful. Then God’s sweet and powerful peace will nourish and protect you in the way of Christ (Philippians 4:6-7, author’s paraphrase).
You are not called to suppress your worry as a Jesus-follower. This holds true for all your emotions. Psychologically speaking, it’s pushing down your feelings that actually causes anxiety.
God understands you and knows how to care for you through emotional distress. He invites you to be honest about your feelings, talk to him or someone who can serve as an ambassador of Christ, and open your soul to his grace.
Jesus the Feeler
Jesus models how to feel and deal with emotions in a healthy way. He experienced the full range of emotions — like anger, sadness, and shame — and expressed them in perfect love (Mark 10:14; Luke 19:41; Hebrews 12:2).
Take the Garden of Gethsemane as an example. Our Savior became aware that he was feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and full of sorrow as the time of his death drew near.
He didn’t pretend he was “fine” or stuff his emotions. He honestly poured his heart out to his loving Papa. He was vulnerable with his friends and asked them to pray for him. He verbalized his needs and received the grace and strength to go to the cross for our sins (Matthew 26:36-46).
Learning to feel our faith like Jesus promotes an authentic relationship with our Abba. It allows us to receive his care and empowering grace.
3 Ways to Feel Your Faith
So, how can we learn to feel our faith with Jesus? Here are some ways to get started:
1. Pray a psalm
The Psalms are full of honest dialogue and emotional language as God’s people pour their hearts out to him. Finding yourself in their experience and borrowing their prayers can help you bring your anger, sadness, and grief to God — making the soil of your heart fertile to his love, care, and comfort. It can also help you draw strength from emotions like joy, gratitude, and hopefulness to strengthen you in your love for Jesus and ministry to others.
You could even write your own psalm to the Lord!
2. Cultivate a greater awareness of God
You are designed by God to feel the warmth of the sun, the prick of a thorn, the embrace of a friend, the hunger of the homeless, and the still, small voice of his Spirit (Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20; Matthew 25:37-40; 1 Kings 19:12-13).
Learning to appreciate God’s presence in all circumstances happens when you set aside distractions and experience calmness in your inner world. This can be cultivated through practices like silence, stillness, and praying in nature. You might feel antsy and unsettled at first, but over time, you’ll develop a greater awareness of Jesus’ presence with you and his gentle movement in your life.
3. Receive empathy and prayer from a soul friend
Getting real and raw about what’s happening inside you while a trusted friend listens to you with empathy helps you establish a more vulnerable friendship with God (2 Corinthians 5:20).
You can go deep in self-discovery when somebody reflects back to you what they are hearing and observing through listening to your heart. This can help you connect with the places deep inside your soul that need Jesus’ forgiveness, healing, and formation.
Empathy helped Christopher move from being stuck spiritually to experiencing renewal with Jesus through cultivating emotional health and authentic faith. The same can happen for you!
Grow Spiritually and Emotionally with Soul Shepherding
Like Christopher, you can get practical about growing spiritually and emotionally through our book Journey of the Soul. It will help you identify the unique needs of your current stage of faith.
Then, you might consider a more comprehensive route and join us for a Soul Shepherding retreat focused on helping you go deeper with Jesus in emotional health and loving leadership. You’ll be equipped to get unstuck and move forward in your faith through spiritual disciplines, empathy, and training in Jesus-centered psychology with other pastors and missionaries like you.
Praying for you to flourish in your experience of Jesus!
