The Emotions of God

God has been really talking to me about His emotions of late, and how people lack the understanding that He is an emotional God. So many people have an ideology that God is just sitting on His throne just looking down on us with much detachment. We have characterized Him into a stoic God with no emotion. Some of us believe that the only emotions He has are negative emotions of anger, disappointment, and resent. We need to stop putting God in the view of our likeness, and begin to view ourselves in His likeness. Throughout the Word it is riddled with the emotions of God.

In Psalms 30:5 it states, “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.” In this scripture we can see four emotions of God. First He is a God of anger, but this is not an everlasting anger but a momentary anger. He is a God of righteous anger against the injustices of His people. He is a God of favor, which in turn is a God of pleasure and set affection. I thought it was interesting how in this scripture it was stated that His anger was for a moment, but favor was for a lifetime. Think about that statement for a moment. Most of us believe that His anger is for a lifetime and His favor is for a moment. He has a lifetime set affection for us. He longs for us and burns for us for all of eternity. If we could only grasp just a portion of the reality that He loves us forever no matter what we do. Weeping only endures for a night, but joy always comes in the morning. He is a God of sorrow, but only in a sense that He mourns and intercedes for us. His compassion for us draws Him into weeping. He longs for us to come back to Him as our first love. He is interceding for our eyes to be opened to His beauty. He lives to intercede on behalf of us (Hebrews 7:25 25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them). He hears our cries. He knows our desires, and He burns to labor with us in prayer. We have our own free will, and it is a matter of what decisions we make whether or not we see the fullness of Him. He is a joyful God as well. Let us get out of the mindset that God is somber and serious all the time. You must understand that we are made in His image, and let’s face it some people here on earth are hilarious. If people on earth have a sense of humor then God Himself must have a sense of humor. He is very much a Person like it states in the amplified version of Philippians 3:10.

I am a living testimony that once you allow God to take over your life your emotions become His emotions and your desires become His desires. I am not saying that I have everything He wants for me, because I know that I have so much to work on. What I am saying is that from the moment of me laying down my life to serve Him I have become more like Him in the sense of my emotions. I used to be hardened and jaded to people. I had a very negative view on life. There was little joy in my life, and I lived depressed and angry. I had no compassion for others, and simply lived for myself. In the past few years my whole demeanor has changed as a person. I live to serve others, I love what He loves, I hate what He hates, and I burn with compassion for people. When God shows me somebodies heart I cannot control myself and I break down and mourn for them. Tears begin to well up and stream down my face as I intercede for their hearts to be mended and complete. He does the same thing when He sees us get hurt. He breaks down with much emotion and mourns for us. He mourns and intercedes for our pains, and rejoices over our victory. To have the emotions of God is such an important thing, and the only way that is accomplished is to gain a personal relationship with Him. We must gain knowledge of God to know His emotions. He is constantly showing His love by pouring into us His very Person when we search for Him. He shows us His love by having mercy on us, by sending His Son to die for us, and by creating us for the purpose of companionship. Many books in the Bible are parallelisms to the Him as the Bridegroom and us as the Bride. His love is shown throughout the Word, and yet we cannot grasp that His strongest emotion is love. I could give numerous verses in the Word that show that He loves us, that show that He is emotion, and that show that He longs for us. It is completely up to each of us individually to find out how emotional God is by gaining knowledge of who He is. He wants us to know His emotions so that we may live as He does, and that we understand what He is feeling. Do you not want the love of your life to know your feelings and emotions? Do you not want your bride or groom to have a knowledge of who you are, and what is on your mind? He is no different He longs to let us know His emotions, so that we can partake in the interceding for this world. We are to partake of His love, so that we can show others His love. Everything started and will end on this earth with the emotion of love.  It is our inheritance to feel what God feels. John 17:24, "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” There is so much emotion in this cry out to God. Jesus desires for us to be with Him where He is at, so that we can obtain His glory. He wants to be with us. What a weighty reality to have. He loves us so much and desires us so much that He burns for us to be with Him wherever He is at. We are to gain revelation by knowing who God is, and experiencing His love.

Recently I was given the position of youth pastor at the ministry I serve under, Touched By Grace Ministries. If you would have known me before God showed me His emotions you would have questioned such a position. I generally hated children, especially youth. They were annoying, bratty, and all around nuisances to society. Within the first week of being a part of the ministry I developed a love for the kids and the youth. My heart was transformed by God to feel what He felt for them. The young ones in this nation are so lost, and have no knowledge of who God is or what they are called to be. My mandate from heaven is to instill a passion in their hearts to gain knowledge of God by living by example. I am determined and driven to live a life consecrated to God not just because my love for Him, but to show this younger generation that blessings follow obedience, that His favor follows those that truth in Him, and that if you stay in the will of God He will show you your path. I want to lead a youth group that is more on fire than any adult congregation. I long to lead a youth group that lives by example, and are willing vessels to do whatever the Holy Spirit guides them to do. I want a youth group that will fast in pray in these times of crisis. I want a youth group that will lead people back to God’s embrace. This youth group will be one that is here to take over, and take back every soul that satan tried to steal. This youth group will understand that they have an inheritance with God. This youth group will not look at themselves as mere youth, but as righteous and holy warriors for Christ. This youth group will be one to change the world. This is the vision God has given me, this is the emotion God has stirred in me for them, and this is the passion in the wells of my spirit. I will not bend, because I cannot until the mission God has imparted to me is finished. I have been given a love for the youth to lead the youth. I have been given an understanding of serving so I can serve them. He has imparted His emotions into my spirit so that I can live for others. Times may get hard, but His delight in me is my driving force. His passion and love for me is what makes mountains seem like molehills. Let us stand together in the gap for the seed of this world. Let us intercede for them as He does. He yearns for their hearts to be turned away from the idolatry and harlotry of this world so that they may know His love. Let us show these youth who God is and His emotions by being so consumed by Him we only show who He is. Let us arise to take on the emotions of the Lofty One on the throne.