Emotions were designed by God to follow and not to lead. — Pete Briscoe

We were once on a family horseback ride at a family friend’s ranch in East Texas. My son Liam was riding a horse named Easy Money. While we were trotting happily along, Easy Money decided he was done and made a beeline back for the stables. Poor Liam was holding on for dear life! But at that moment our guide shouted, “Liam, pull back on the reins!” So Liam yanked hard, and that two-thousand-pound animal stopped on a dime.

The horse responded just as our emotions ought to respond.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

In this passage, Paul communicates what a person acts like when they have their emotions under the authority of the Spirit. The emotions might feel like a runaway horse, but we control the reins when we don’t allow our emotions to dictate our decisions.

You could feel incredibly infatuated with someone in a moment, ready to marry them just on sight. But do you sign a contract with someone you met one hour before because you feel like it? Of course, not! You do your due diligence before you sign it. Emotions can enhance our lives when properly channeled, but when they’re out of control, they can be very harmful.

Believe in your mind what God has promised you in His Word and don’t let your emotions run rampant like Easy Money. When those emotions try to take off in their own direction, grab the reins of God’s truth.

You are what God says about you, not what you feel about you. There’s a big difference.

Holy Spirit, I claim the power You give me over my emotions. I am what You say about me, not what I feel about myself. I renounce the lies that feel true, and by Your power in me, choose to act according to who I am in You. Thank You, my Lord, for the forgiveness You have given me and the freedom I have over my emotions in Your name. Amen.