How Does Faith in God Affect Our Emotions?Sample

Joy

“You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.” (Psalm 4:7 ESV)

Psalm 4 is a highly emotional song. The poet writes about people who want to humiliate him with their lies. That evokes anger, but he reminds himself that his emotional reaction should not cause him to sin. Instead, he wants to trust in God and thus find peace. As a result, he experiences deep joy, even though he is treated unjustly. The joy the psalmist finds in God makes him happier than all those evil people, no matter how prosperous they are.

In a similar vein, the Lord Jesus says that people who are hated and excluded because of their faith can still experience profound joy. That seems contradictory. How can you be happy when you are treated in such a hostile manner? This has to do with the joy of God that you experience in your heart, and with the expectation that He gives: “Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven.” (Luke 6:23 ESV)

Of course, Christians are not immune to sadness and disappointment. But the ultimate source of their joy is independent of possessions, relationships, or anything temporal. So even when everything in the entire world seems to go wrong, that joy remains.

Can you imagine that? What is your own experience?