Allison Bailey’s Reviews > Untangling Emotions: God's Gift of Emotions > Status Update

“Fear exposes the idols of our hearts very effectively, just as it also puts a spotlight on the good places where God has shaped our desires in righteous and healthy ways.”

^ This!

“Nothing so powerfully quenches the fire of fear as the presence of someone we trust.”

“Our fears not only tell us what we love; they also push us towards extremes in relationships. Fear urges us to either jump back from others or cling to them like driftwood in a shipwreck, depending on our perception of what will most likely make us feel safe.”

“ But we need to say no to the temptation to shut down our emotions before we’ve really understood what the emotion is communicating. When we feel the need to shut down and escape, including the shame of experiencing them, it’s easy to fall prey to dangerous escapes—drugs, alcohol, sexual sins, and a host of others.”

“Anger gives you the bravery to stop destructive interactions, and that’s a good thing (esp. in the context of abusive relationships)”

“Trying to develop a heart whose emotions overflow from loving what God loves without bringing your feelings to him is like trying to fly by flapping your arms instead of boarding an airplane.”

“Why would God choose to care about or listen to the weeping or pleading or crowing of a sinful creature who caused his beloved Son to go through physical and emotional anguish we could never fathom? … Yet this is exactly what we observe over and over in the Psalms.”

“Rather than selecting our emotions on a whim off a menu of ways to feel, God gave us emotions that are actually designed not to change unless what we love changes or what is happening to the thing we love changes.”

“[Love] may forgive all infirmities and love still in spite of them: but love cannot cease to will their removal.” C.S. Lewis

“At the core, dealing with difficult (or absent) emotions always comes back to growing in love for what God loves, hate for what God hates, and an ever-deepening relationship with God through every emotion.”