Emotions & Faith

Ever feel like your emotions are controlling you… but something inside whispers that you should “have it together”? 😅

Here’s the thing—whether I grit my teeth, white-knuckle the safety bar, and try to control every single twist and turn…or I throw my hands in the air, scream, and maybe even laugh—the ride still goes on.

For a long time, I lived like the first version. Clutching my plans, my timelines, my “I’ve got this” energy, I thought if I just held on tighter, I could make it all go exactly how I pictured. But if you’ve ever been on a rollercoaster, you know—that never really works.

🙋‍♀️ I get it. Life can get messy. One minute you’re holding it all together, and the next, it feels like your feelings are running the show—anxiety, frustration, grief, joy, hope… all tangled up in one big knot. And if you’re anything like me, sometimes it feels easier to just stuff it all down, put on a smile, and pretend everything’s fine.

But here’s the truth that changed everything for me: What if that messiness isn’t something to hide? What if it’s actually an invitation?

God doesn’t want the polished version of you—the one who’s rehearsed, filtered, or “fine.” He wants the real you.The you who’s tired. The you who’s scared. The you who secretly wonders if you’re too much or not enough. The you who longs for something deeper.

Your emotions aren’t a problem to fix. They’re a doorway.

And that doorway has a name: Jesus.

He’s the One who said, “I am the door; if anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9).

Jesus is the doorway because He stepped fully into our humanity. He didn’t just watch our joy and sorrow from a distance—He entered it. He wept at the grave of His friend. He grew angry at injustice. He celebrated at a wedding feast. He felt crushing loneliness in the Garden. He even endured betrayal and rejection from the very people He loved most.

That means He knows. He knows what it is to laugh until your sides hurt and to cry until you can’t breathe. He knows the taste of hope and the weight of despair. There is no emotion you carry that He hasn’t carried first.

And when you walk through Him, you’re not walking into judgment or shame. You’re walking into Presence. Into healing. Into the safety of being fully known and still fully loved.

So when fear rises, you don’t have to shut the door on it. You can let Jesus meet you in it, the Prince of Peace who whispers, “I am with you.” When grief weighs heavy, you can collapse into the arms of the Man of Sorrows who bore your pain. When joy bubbles up, you can rejoice with the One who delights to see you delight.

Jesus is the doorway—the One who opens the way for your emotions to become encounters with God.

So maybe today, instead of trying to hold it all in, you could let one prayer slip out of your heart. Something as simple as: “Jesus, this is where I’m at. Here’s my joy. Here’s my fear. Here’s my sorrow. I want You to be with me in it.”

Because the truth is, you don’t need to be less emotional to be more spiritual. You just need to bring your emotions to Jesus—the doorway to life.

• Which emotion feels hardest for you to bring to Jesus? Why?

• Where in your story can you see Him walking beside you in both sorrow and joy?

• How might your relationship with God change if you saw every emotion as a doorway to Jesus instead of a problem to hide?

Jesus, we release our white-knuckled grip and place it all in Your hands. Every fear, every tear, every burst of laughter, every ache of longing—none of it is too much for You. Teach us the freedom of holy dependence, the peace of leaning not on our own strength but on Yours. When our emotions feel like a storm, anchor us in Your presence. When joy overflows, remind us You are the giver of every good gift. We trust You, Lord—the One who holds it all together, and the One who holds us.

Amen.

“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” — Colossians 1:17