Devotions Inspired By Beyond BlessedSample

DASHBOARD LIGHTS

by Elizabeth Settle

Soon after telling a group of people about a personal struggle, I felt very anxious. I couldn’t figure out what was going on, so I asked the Lord, “Why am I feeling this way?” I became still, and He said, “You are feeling vulnerable, not anxious.” Immediately, it made sense! I told a very personal story, and I felt exposed. In response to this revelation, I asked God to protect me. Instantly, I sensed His peace descend like a guard over my heart and mind. I gave him my anxiety (a symptom of vulnerability), and He gave me His peace. 

I’ve heard emotions compared to dashboard lights on a car: they indicate something’s going on under the surface. 

Have you ever been advised to not pay attention to your emotions? I agree that our emotions are not designed to drive us—any more than those dashboard lights should take the wheel—but they are designed to tell us something. Ignoring them would be like putting tape over the check engine light. 

We steward emotional health by paying attention. At some point, we must stop, look under the hood, and assess the real problem. Our emotions are not lying to us. They tell us the truth about our beliefs, which drive us. 

So, how do we “look under the hood” of our lives? Jesus isn’t only the great physician, He is the great mechanic too. He is the best diagnostician of our emotional realm. He gave us those emotions! 

God is an emotional being and He made us in His image. God gets angry, pleased, sad, and jealous. Because emotions are indicators of what is happening in our soul, God uses our emotions to get our attention. And we must engage Him to fix our problems by asking questions like, Lord, what am I feeling? Why am I feeling this way? Is there a lie that I am believing that is causing this strong emotion? 

These kinds of questions, used in cooperation with Scripture, provide incredible insight. The key is to pay attention. If there is a warning light illuminated on the dashboard of your soul, it may be time to pull over, get quiet, and ask God what He says about what you are feeling. 

He can diagnose us, and He can repair us because He is, after all, the great mechanic.

PRAYER

Lord, I choose to pay attention to my emotions. Will You show me what I am feeling? What beliefs are driving those emotions? I invite You to repair areas of misbelief and bring me into greater alignment with Your truth. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

MEMORY VERSE   

Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. PSALM 37:5 (NLT)