The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him, but for this reason I came baptizing with water: so that He might be revealed to Israel.” Then John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on Him. (John 1:29-32)
Let’s get very practical. When you are emotional and feeling things at a deeper level than usual, it is vital to submit those emotional feelings to the Holy Spirit. Just as you would bring your thoughts or desires before the Lord, you must do the same with your emotions and feelings to see if they align with God’s Word or need to be changed by the Spirit.
It will be vital for you to compare your emotions to the emotional life of Jesus Christ to determine if your feelings are right or wrong.
This can be challenging because almost everyone has an imbalanced view of Jesus’ emotional life. Practically we tend to see Him as either Lion or Lamb and not both. Those of us with more Lamb personalities will focus on the parts of the Bible where Jesus was meek, kind, patient, loving and appears more passive if not even timid. Those of us with more Lion personalities will focus on the parts of the Bible where Jesus was strong, firm, urgent, controversial and appears more active if not aggressive.
Are you more of a lion or a lamb? Do you see Jesus more as a Lion or a Lamb?
The Bible presents Jesus as both.
In Revelation 5:5 John calls Jesus “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” A lion is the king of the jungle. A male lion lives in a pride or pack with mainly females and children, and will slaughter anything that threatens his pack. Sometimes Jesus is a Lion.
In John 1:29 John calls Jesus “the Lamb of God.” Lambs are meek creatures who run from danger and stick together with their flock because they are social animals. Lambs eat grass and are not a threat to other animals because they are vegetarians.
The key to your emotional life is twofold: (1) you need the Holy Spirit to help you discern when to be a lion and when to be a lamb, and (2) you need the Holy Spirit to empower you to be a lion when the time is right and a lamb when the time is right.
Where do you need to invite the Holy Spirit to empower your emotional life so that you feel the fullness of Jesus in your feelings? As you become more emotionally healthy, you will be ready for healthy relationship. {eoa}
Mark Driscoll is a Jesus-following, mission-leading, church-serving, people-loving, Bible-preaching pastor and the author of many books, including Spirit-Filled Jesus, which you can order here. He currently pastors The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, with his family. For all of pastor Mark Driscoll’s Bible teaching, please visit markdriscoll.org or download the app. You can download a free devotional e-book from pastor Mark here.
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