In all the conversations about mental health, be sure not to overlook what the Prince of Peace has to say

3 min read

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.” -Jesus, John 14:1, 27

The first time Anne heard the terms “emotion management” and “emotion regulation,” she thought it was a joke. “How can you possibly control what your heart is feeling?” she objected. As far as she was concerned, she could no more put a leash on her ranging emotions than she could put a leash on the moon. Her chronic struggle with anxiety had her feeling like she had no choice but to always feel overwhelmed.

But Anne has since learned that both Scripture and science say otherwise. The more she explored it, the more she learned that both the Bible and the discipline of psychology show that we have a measure of control over what we’re feeling.

Dr. Ethan Kross, psychologist and director of the Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory at the University of Michigan puts it this way:

“We don’t have control always over the thoughts and feelings that arise spontaneously, but what we do have control over is how we engage with those thoughts and feelings once they are activated. That’s the playground of emotion regulation.”

In his book, Shift, Managing Your Emotions So They Don’t Manage You, Kross describes a variety of tools and techniques to help manage emotions, the difficult ones in particular. He calls them shifters, things as simple as listening to a particular song or having a conversation to help shift your emotions in a more pleasant direction.

The interesting thing is, Jesus agrees. Emotions can and must be regulated.

Encouraging Words

In what is referred to as the Farewell Discourse in John 14-16, Jesus preps the disciples for his looming departure from the world. Since they were feeling a horrible mixture of confusion, sadness, and anxiety about all this, he proceeded to have a sort of group therapy session, beginning with the words “Don’t let your hearts be troubled...” (John 14:1).

More than once in this long goodbye, Jesus encouraged his followers, telling them to not allow hard emotions to get on top of them. He knew their hearts. He knew it was going to be an issue.

And by telling them to not let it happen, he was implying that they had some agency, or control over it.

But how? How could they help it?

As they listened, they would hear Jesus talk about several things to help them manage their troubled hearts. He described a whole warehouse of spiritual assets, things like faith, hope, love, prayer, purpose, and the help of the Holy Spirit. All of these things would help them process, cope, and flourish when things got tough.

“And by telling them to not let it happen, he was implying that they had some agency, or control over it.”

Jesus kindly gave his followers resources to pay the toll that life would take on their emotions. They wouldn’t have to handle it on their own.

And neither do we.

The same resources Jesus gave to them he gives to us. As his followers, we have this powerful set of shifters to help us regulate our emotions when they’re getting away from us. They don’t necessarily get a mention in most popular self-help books or podcasts, but in the best-selling book of all time, they are definitely mentioned.

No one is saying emotion regulation is easy. But like Anne discovered, it is possible. Praise God, it is possible.

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” -Jesus, John 14:27

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.