“Hello, Feelings? Hold Please.”
“Search me, God, and know my heart…” – Psalm 139:23
Ever had your feelings try to tell you something and you’re like, “Not now, I don’t have time to deal with that. I’m busy being productive!”?
Brianna Wiest says our emotions are like text messages from our inner self. But let’s be honest—sometimes I treat them like those texts that pop up at the top of my phone from generic numbers and I leave them unread for weeks. I always think, “I’ll respond to that later” and later never comes.
The Inner Voicemail
Here’s what happens in my existence:
Body & Mind: “We’re tired!”
Me: “Ok, sorry about that. Have you met Diet Mtn. Dew?”
Heart: “This situation feels off…”
Me: “No time for change, stay the course. It will be fine.!”
Soul: “We need to process this…”
Me: “Perfect! I’ll add that to next week’s to-do list.”
Barbara Brown Taylor reminds us, “You can decide to let your life crack you open, or you can do your best to stay sealed off.” When we ignore our emotions, we’re choosing the latter, keeping ourselves from the growth God invites us into.
The Sacred Messenger
Wiest explains that our emotions aren’t just random annoyances—they’re sophisticated communications about what’s really going on inside. Think of them as your internal GPS, but instead of saying “recalculating,” they send you anxiety, joy, or that weird feeling in your stomach that tells you something simply is not right.
Richard Rohr says our emotions are like “prophets in our own wilderness.” Which sounds super vague until you realize prophets were usually the ones telling people things they didn’t want to hear. Yet, they ALWAYS had sound counsel.
Brené Brown reminds us that “we cannot selectively numb emotions. When we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions.” What if embracing our emotions actually leads to a fuller, richer experience of life and faith?
Emotions are not bad. We just need to figure out what to do with them.
Learning the Language
What if your emotions are actually trying to help you out? Imagine if we saw them this way:
- Anger = “Hey, a boundary just got crossed!”
- Anxiety = “Something here feels unsafe!”
- That weird pit in your stomach = “This decision doesn’t align with who you are!”
Barbara Brown Taylor writes, “Emotions are the language of the soul. They are the cry that gives the heart a voice.” When we listen, we honor the sacred whispers within us.
The Holy Translator
In Psalm 139, David asks God to search his heart. That’s bold, considering what might be in there. But here’s the comforting thing—God already speaks the language of our emotions fluently. Even the ones we label as “bad” or file under “deal with later.”
Reflection Questions:
- What emotions do you automatically put on hold?
- What might they be trying to tell you?
- Where in your body do you feel your strongest emotions?
- How does God speak to you through your emotional landscape?
Prayer:
God, apparently you gave me feelings for a reason (who knew?). Help me learn their language instead of sending them straight to voicemail. Give me the courage to feel what needs to be felt, even when my calendar suggests otherwise. And maybe help me actually respond to those emotional text messages instead of just marking them as “read.” Amen.
Action Steps:
- Start an emotion journal (yes, really)
- Practice naming feelings beyond “fine” and “busy”
- Notice where emotions show up in your body
- Stop calling anxiety your “productivity fuel”
- Let one feeling fully exist without trying to fix it
Closing Thought:
Your emotions aren’t trying to sabotage your perfectly planned day—they’re trying to guide you toward wholeness. Maybe it’s time to stop putting them on hold and start taking their calls.