What's wrong with me?

The truth is, your emotions will not lie to you. Your emotions will, in fact, always tell you the truth about what you believe.

~Bob Hamp

It started at 3am. I woke up in a panic, thoughts swirling in my head. They were nasty, mean thoughts; You're ugly, you're worthless, you can't do anything right! They came so fast I could barely brace myself through the wave of despair and hopelessness that seemed to encompass me there in my bed. Prayer helped and eventually the thoughts and the heavy feelings passed.

But the aftermath was worse. I felt..... condemned. I was a Christian, filled by His presence and yet I had felt this wave of heavy thoughts. What was wrong with me? What was wrong with my faith? How could I feel this way? Was this an attack of the enemy? Was I simply mental?

These were the questions I took to a trusted friend. As I described my feelings and the condemnation I felt, she looked at me kindly and simply said, "Every emotion has a purpose."

Well, huh. I'd never really thought about it that way.

My first reaction was to blame. Blame myself. Blame the enemy. But I never stopped to ask myself or God why I might be feeling this way. So, that's what we did, my friend and I. We asked God and shock of all shockers? He had an answer.

Emotions are like that pain in your knee that you can't seem to get rid of. That pain tells you "Danger! Danger! There's something wrong here!" Your body is warning you that all is not well.

Your emotions in turn do a similar service. They are the warning device that tells you all is not well with your soul. Instead of turning towards blame or a coping mechanism, we can turn to God for a little heart surgery. Turning to God can help us demolish strongholds and lies that we've come to believe and instill the truth about how He sees us.

So next time you're feeling something, instead of asking yourself "What's wrong with me?" remember to stop, pause, and listen to your emotions because they are a road sign saying "Danger! Trouble ahead!"

Then simply take them to the One Person who can help you sort it all out.