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Big for Boys devotions

What God’s Word Says

About Emotions

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Scripture quotations marked nlt are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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Introduction

Everyone has feelings. Some are linked to happiness and some to sadness. There are feelings that you enjoy, and then there are others you don’t want to experience—not ever. Feelings can be confusing. And sometimes you might even need help managing them.

Boys like you make choices when they feel a certain way. But it’s important to know that sometimes your feelings don’t help you make great choices. For instance, if you’re angry, you might make a choice that causes someone else to feel anger or hate too. That doesn’t help anyone. Or you may feel love toward certain people in your life, and that can influence the way they feel about you.

Feelings aren’t bad, but your feelings don’t always tell the truth. For example, maybe you feel frustrated with someone, but you might not feel the same way if you knew the reason they do the things they do. Or sometimes you might feel scared, but really there’s no reason to be afraid. Keep reading and explore the variety of emotions and what God has to say about each one.

Your Heart and Feelings

“The heart is fooled more than anything else, and is very sinful. Who can know how bad it is?”

Jeremiah 17:9 nlv

When the Bible talks about your heart, it’s not talking about your physical heart. It refers to the place where all your feelings are stored—so you can get to them quickly. God lives there. Your heart is where important decisions are made. These decisions include both feelings and choices. If someone does something mean to you, you might react with feelings of anger, frustration, or sadness. Dwelling on these feelings makes a person’s meanness even meaner somehow. Your feelings tell you that what happened was unfair, so you think you should do something unfair in return. But God says these feelings can fool you. They’ll make you believe you’ll feel better by acting mean in return, but you won’t. You might think a nasty comeback will make things better, but more likely it will make a bad situation even worse. God says to love others, but your emotions might tell you it would be better to hate instead. God says you should forgive, but feelings want you to make the choice to hold a grudge. When you make choices because of bad feelings, you’ll often break God’s rules.

Thanks for my feelings, Lord. Help me remember they’re worth noticing but sometimes give very bad advice.

When You’re

Embarrassed

Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed.

2 Timothy 2:15 nlt

No one likes it when someone says, “You’re wrong.” You want to be right. That’s when the feeling of embarrassment bubbles up in your heart.

God pays attention to you. When you do the right thing, He notices. When you make a wrong choice, He notices. Arguing with God doesn’t work—because He’s always right. When you do what He asks, you never need to be embarrassed or ashamed. When you break His rules, you should never tell God, “You’re wrong.” Admit He was right and take new steps with Him—He’ll take away your embarrassment. Embarrassment allows so many different feelings to have power over your choices. You might experience fear, jealousy, or even hate. None of these feelings tell others that you care about them.

I don’t like to be embarrassed, Father. When I say something, it’s because I think I’m right. Help me be wise enough to learn from You and refuse to let embarrassment lead me to make bad choices.

God Is the Best Choice

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.

Romans 1:16 niv

Do you remember reading that feelings don’t always tell you the truth? Do you remember reading that being embarrassed might influence you to make bad choices?

You can listen to others who say that what God says isn’t very important, and you can feel embarrassed because people notice that you follow Him. The feeling of embarrassment might influence you to make the choice to say that you don’t love God or that you think He’s not very important. Embarrassment happens when someone catches you in a lie or when they question whether something you said was true. Both can feel like the end of the world. But you don’t have to spend much time with embarrassment. Admit when you’re wrong. Stand up for the truth. Never feel embarrassed for making God your best choice.

Help me never feel embarrassed because I follow You, Lord. When I know You’re right, help me never agree with others who say You’re wrong.

I can do all things because Christ gives me the strength.

Beware of the “What Ifs”

I can do all things because Christ gives me the strength.

Philippians 4:13 nlv

Trying new things can be embarrassing. What if you’re not very good at them? What if someone makes fun of you? What if other people do it better? That’s a lot of what-ifs.

Most people won’t try new things because they worry they might be embarrassed. But God can help you do hard things. The fact is, when you trust God enough to try new things, you might help other people trust Him too. Some of the things you may be challenged to do are really good ideas that make you feel nervous. But when you know that God wants you to do something, you don’t need to be embarrassed to try. You’ll always learn something in the process. You can be a good example too. Your feelings can be challenged to obey the God who asks you to do good things even when they’re hard things.

You’re a good Father. Help me be patient as I follow You, not letting my feelings get in the way of the good plans You have for me.

He Can Do It

We can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”

Hebrews 13:6 nlt

When do you feel confident? Sometimes? Never? You might feel shy and would rather not be noticed. Or maybe you like people to notice you, and that means you try to make people think you’re braver than you really are.

You might think that being brave and confident means you need big muscles and a loud voice. Some people think being confident means you make others feel embarrassed so you can look more important.

God says you should be confident, but that feeling should come from remembering that God is with you. He’ll help you. No one is bigger than God. No one. Not you. Not the school bully. Not the strongest person you know. Feel confident because God can do what you can’t, and He’ll help when you struggle.

It’s hard to feel confident when I’m embarrassed, Lord. Let me feel confident because You are with me and for me.

Good Things Are Coming

Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere.

Hebrews 10:35–36 niv

You experience some feelings because of the choices you make. You might decide to show off, and that could lead to a feeling of embarrassment. Or you might decide to follow God, and that could lead to feelings of faith and assurance. Other feelings will try to get your attention, so you might be tempted to let go of your confidence while you spend time with unhelpful feelings like hurt, frustration, and anger. These are just a few of the feelings that can rob your confidence.

When you’re confident in all the wonderful things God can do, you’ll have a reward from Him. You might discover that you can talk about God more easily, and as you do, you’ll grow in your ability to get rid of feelings that aren’t helpful. God says the best thing you can do is persevere. That’s a pretty big word, but it basically means to be patient while continuing to do the right things. Trust God that good things are coming!

Why is it so easy to give up, God? Help me be confident long enough to see the surprising, wonderful things You will do.

Things and Stuff

See those people polishing their chariots, and those others grooming their horses?

But we’re making garlands for God our God. The chariots will rust, those horses pull up lame—and we’ll be on our feet, standing tall.

Psalm 20:7–8 msg

You probably know people who own a lot of stuff that makes them feel important. Those things can make them feel confident, but owning things isn’t where confidence comes from. Why? Well, things are just. . .things. If they break or if they are stolen, they might take your confidence and leave you with other feelings you wish you didn’t have. Things you can own are never as important as God. When He gives you a feeling of confidence, it means that you know He can’t be broken or taken away. Things will leave you feeling alone and lonely—God never does that!

God isn’t just a good idea. He’s the only place where real confidence can be found, and He’s also the only one who never leaves you alone—not ever.

It’s nice to have things that are mine, Father. But things can never be more important than my family, friends, or You.

God Helps

We thought we would die. This happened so we would not put our trust in ourselves, but in God.

2 Corinthians 1:9 nlv

When bad things happen, you probably don’t think of yourself as confident. You certainly don’t feel that way. You may not know why bad things are happening, and that can cause you to feel like making a bad choice will only make things worse. Then the feeling of fear comes along and invites worry as well. There’s only one God you can trust. There’s no need to trust yourself when you’re paying attention to Him. Follow Him—it’s always the right choice.

If you don’t feel brave today, that’s okay, because God is brave enough for every person who has ever lived. He will help you.

No trouble is so big that God can’t take care of it. You’ll always feel more confident when you remember that God helps those who ask Him for help.

When I think things are just too hard, Lord, help me remember You. Bring the help I need so I can feel confident knowing I’m following the best leader.

Just Wait

Wait patiently for the Lord . Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord .

Psalm 27:14 nlt

When you feel impatient, you often only think of things you should be doing—or things you should be trying. Waiting feels like you’re wasting time—and it’s hard to wait! When you’re impatient, you think things aren’t going the way they should. Being impatient means you don’t trust God to take care of things. But Psalm 27 says the best thing you can do is resist feeling impatient. Reach into your heart for the feeling of courage. Believe that God has a plan and that His plan is good. After all, He knows more about everything than you do. You don’t need to give in to the feeling of impatience. If God is willing to take care of things, then sit back and let Him do His thing. You can help by just watching Him do what only He can do.

Impatience isn’t a good feeling, God. You know how to take care of me better than anyone. Teach me to wait when I’m feeling impatient.

God’s Better Idea

Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.

Proverbs 16:32 niv

When you make choices because you feel impatient, you might look like a warrior. Maybe that doesn’t sound like a bad thing, but the truth is, when you act out of impatience, you can hurt other people because you insist on getting what you want when you want it.

You could choose self-control instead and wait for God’s better idea. If you make choices because you feel impatient and then hurt someone, you’ll feel bad later. You’ll need to apologize and ask that person to forgive you. Of course, the perfect answer is to follow God in the first place. You’re not stronger, smarter, or more patient than God. So it makes sense to follow Him and ask Him for help—He will give it.

Make me wise enough to remember that there are many things I don’t know, Father. Feeling impatient is a great reminder to pray and tell You what bothers me and ask You for help.

Poor Choices

The people became irritable and cross as they traveled. They spoke out against God and Moses:

“Why did you drag us out of Egypt to die in this godforsaken country? No decent food; no water.”

Numbers 21:4–5 msg

The Bible tells the story of people who were slaves for a very long time. A man named Moses was used by God to rescue the people so they could be free. But they didn’t feel free. Instead, the people felt impatient. They felt worried. They felt frustrated. These feelings caused them to tell Moses that things were better when they were slaves.

God knows it’s easy to feel impatient, but He didn’t want these people making poor choices. Feeling impatient led them to complain. They refused to trust God and wouldn’t ask for His help. They seemed to think God didn’t know what He was doing, and they weren’t sure they should have followed God or their leader, Moses.

The people in your life will sometimes make choices you don’t like—they might even make the wrong choices. Try hard not to be impatient with them. Show them God’s love and grace.

I don’t need the feeling of impatience, Lord. Teach me to always show Your love and grace to others.

Don’t Give Up

Do not let yourselves get tired of doing good. If we do not give up, we will get what is coming to us at the right time.

Galatians 6:9 nlv

When you feel impatient, you might choose to give up. You might get tired of doing the right things for the right reasons. God asks you to do everything you can to stay away from the feeling of impatience. Do good things because you follow God—even when you think something is unfair or too hard. Impatience will lead you to compare how hard things seem for you and how easy things seem for other people. This kind of comparison can cause feelings of jealousy, anger, and frustration. God promises to help, but He never said things would be easy. Don’t give up—there’s more to your story.

When things seem hard, God, I don’t want to compare myself with others and think that You treat them better than You treat me. Impatience will do that—and You don’t want me to feel impatient.

A Very Good Choice

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.

Psalm 40:1 nlt

When you feel patient, you can be calm because you believe there will be a very good ending to whatever you’re struggling with. Everyone struggles, but not everyone makes good choices when they face trouble. King David wrote that he did the hard thing of being patient when he faced difficulties. Because he was patient, David got what he really needed—a God who listened to him. And God didn’t just listen to David. . .He helped him.

You might wonder if God listens to you. If you’re patient enough to wait for His best answer, then His help will arrive at just the right time.

Being patient is more than a feeling—it’s a very wise choice.

When I want to do anything besides waiting, remind me of David, Father. If a king knew he needed to talk to You first, then I want to do what he did. Please listen when I hurt—and help me.

Being patient is more than a feeling— it’s a very wise choice.

Going the Wrong Way?

Be happy in your hope. Do not give up when trouble comes. Do not let anything stop you from praying.

Romans 12:12 nlv

There are a lot of good things to remember in today’s verse. Feel happy because you trust God. Feel patient on hard days. Feel adventurous by making the choice to follow a good God—even when you don’t feel like it. There will be days when you feel like doing only what you want. God knows this can lead you the wrong way, which is why He wants you to remember that feelings don’t always tell you the truth. All feelings—good and bad—can lead you the wrong way. So when your feelings take over, it’s a great time to talk to God and ask for His thoughts. Choose hope even when you don’t feel happy. Be patient even when it would be easier to feel angry. Pray even when you’re not sure you want to.

Would you lead me, God? I don’t always know where I’m going, and I don’t know how to get where You want me to be. Help me trust You more than I trust my feelings.

Brave and Patient

Be patient. . . . Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time.

James 5:8 msg

Jesus lived with people here on earth. It all started with the Christmas story and continued through Easter—when Jesus died and rose again. He said that someday He would return to earth, and people have been waiting ever since He made that promise. James was one of Jesus’ brothers, and he wrote that Jesus would come back, hoping to encourage Jesus’ followers to feel brave and patient.

Just because you’ve never seen Jesus with your own eyes doesn’t mean that you won’t. You might choose to believe that Jesus will never come back, but that will change the choices you make. Any choices you made before you believed Jesus was coming back probably weren’t very good choices. Know you can trust what Jesus said. If He said He would. . .He will! Choose to feel the wonder of all the promises God will keep. And choose patience.

When I’m not patient and won’t wait for You, then I stop trusting You, Father. I’ll never be better off by doubting that You keep Your promises. Help me to believe—and then to wait patiently for You.

It’s a Struggle

Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28 nlt

Do you remember diving underwater for the first time? Going underwater can be scary. Your body is used to breathing. Swimming makes normal breathing impossible. This is kind of what it’s like to feel overwhelmed. You have so many things to take care of—too many things to think about. Your mind may just want to give up thinking about so much. It’s like when your lungs are underwater—it’s a struggle.

Jesus talked to a lot of people when He lived on earth. He met people who were overwhelmed. They just wanted to give up. But He had better advice: When you’re very tired and life is just too hard—pray and tell God all about how you feel and the difficult things you face. The best news is what Jesus promised next: “I will give you rest.”

Trouble can make things seem too hard, Lord. There are so many choices, and I don’t have all the answers. But You do. I can get very tired on the hard days. Please help me.

A Life Ring

Do not worry. Learn to pray about everything. Give thanks to God as you ask Him for what you need.

Philippians 4:6 nlv

When bad things happen, it can seem like they invite other bad things to join the party. It’s common to feel overwhelmed when there’s more bad than good and more hard than easy moments. You just can’t deal with everything that competes for your attention. It can feel like you’re in a flood and need a life ring so you can be rescued.

God wants you to know there’s nothing—nothing—that you can’t pray about. There’s nothing—nothing—worth worrying about. You never have to feel overwhelmed and face a struggle all by yourself. In fact, knowing that you are never alone should mean that you tell God, “Thank You!” before you even receive His rescue.

Feeling overwhelmed? It’s time to trust God.

When I feel overwhelmed, I don’t need to keep feeling that way, God. Remind me to talk to You about my feelings so You can show me the truth that can change the way I feel.