2Tim1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Our approach to life must be holistic. Scriptures teaches that God has given us all that pertains to life and godliness (2 Pet.1:3). As we grow, we must not neglect gaining mastery over our emotions. Emotion is the part of a person's character that consists of their feelings, as opposed to their thoughts. I love that definition. According to Collins dictionary, an emotion is a feeling such as happiness, love, fear, anger, or hatred, which can be caused by the situation that you are in or the people you are with. There's always a part of us that is emotional. There are adults, who still miss their parents just as children will miss their parents on a long trip. Many people have outbursts of emotion in difficult situations. They tend to become overwhelmed and face a lack of self- control. People who are more resilient in such situations are known as emotionally strong. Those that have not gained mastery over their emotions may make permanent decisions in temporary situations and ruin much good for the future.
Singles willing to be married should know that marriage has a way of checking our emotional strength. Lack of self control is a sign of emotional weakness, inability to take initiative when needed is another sign of emotional dullness. If you are not a master over feelings, your marriage may be boring. Feelings are fickle and that's why you don't take major decisions on the basis of how you feel. The mature single is one who can separate reality from emotions. Some singles walk around carrying long faces as though all of life's problems are on them. Some are distraught about delay in marriage and heart breaks but failed to recover emotionally. The truth is that no one wants to marry an emotional wreck. Brighten up and find healing. If you're wounded emotionally, heal before entering into marriage. Wounded singles may end up hurting their partners in marriage. Some marriages are facing big storms today because one of the parties brought in emotional baggage of unhealed past either because of rape, molestation, torturous upbringing or heartbreaks. They live with someone that loves them but do not know how to receive love. A lot of couples are like this. Marriage is for those that are whole emotionally.
Sometime ago, it was reported that a father beat his child to death. Anger caused it. If you don't know how to apply brakes to your anger or feelings, you'll be a bad parent. Parenting requires emotional stability. The first investment into your emotional life is the word of God. Let it saturate your life and be your manual for living. Colossians 3:16 says, "Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts." You cannot be dosing heavily on the word of God and not experience a change. Most people are looking for quick fixes through counselors. They fail to realize that transformation takes a process. It is never sudden. Another thing you can do is to learn the art of patience before reacting to issues. Learn to pause or ask for a time out before reacting to issues. Don't let feelings rule over thought neither should it becloud your sense of judgement. Start living your life this way and let it be part of you. It has benefit for life and marriage.
Father, I receive grace to be strong emotionally in Jesus name.