Your emotions point to inner needs that are either being met or not being met. We all have emotional needs and we look to have them met in many different ways. A variety of factors will dictate how you in particular go about seeking to have your emotional needs met, depending on factors such as your life experiences, where you come from, what your parents were like, what your childhood was like etc.
How to find happiness in Christ
All the experiences of your life will combine to make you look for a particular kind of emotional fulfilment. For instance, if you came from a very unstable home, looking for security and stability will be high on your emotional agenda. If you have experienced a number of loveless relationships, then you will be looking for love and affirmation as a priority.
The most important thing for us to learn is, there is only one way to have all our emotional needs met: to come to Jesus, to receive healing, and to truly know who we are in Him. There is no other way. You can travel the world seeking fulfilment, seeking relationships, pursuing different careers, seeking many things, but you will never find fulfilment until you discover who you are in Christ.
Positive and negative emotions
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All of us have both positive and negative emotions. Experiencing positive emotions points to the fact that our needs are being met. When our needs are fulfilled we will experience,
- Joy
- Peace
- Fulfilment
- Contentment
If you experience these emotions then it means you are a healthy believer and you know who you are in Christ. Negative emotions however, reveal that we have needs that are not being met and we are unsure of our true identity in Christ. Such negative emotions include,
- Fear
- Anger
- Frustration
- Depression
- Emptiness
- Sadness
Many people in their desperation for emotional fulfilment have rushed into relationships or into marriage, believing that their partner will meet all their needs. They have not stopped to consider whether this person is actually the life-partner that God intended for them. But once in the relationship, or worse still the marriage, what do they find? They find that their emotional needs are just as great as ever and they now have the added problem of worrying about the future stability of their relationship.