Connecting Point: The Wheel of Emotions

As human beings, we “feel” a gamut of emotions as we journey through life. As a 53-year-old man, life is much different than when I was 35, I get tired easily and don’t always have as much gusto. Family has always been a priority for Dina and me, we’ve invested love and time into our four wonderful children, and each one is unique. We are entering the “empty nest” years these days and just became first-time grandparents in the fall. Our youngest daughter has graduated from High School, and transitions are happening around us. Like so many others, we are going through many emotions.

At times our negative emotions can get the best of us, derailing us from growing in our character. Kyle Idleman, in the When Your Way Isn’t Working teaching series, suggests that we need to identify those emotions to understand better where they’re coming from to change. Truthfully, we are imperfect, perfect people who sometimes fail to see the necessary changes in our lives. We need close friends who can challenge us as the Bible confronts our sinfulness, too often we throw shade on others and fail to look in the mirror.

Peter is a prime example who certainly had his character flaws; however, Jesus changed this fisherman’s life trajectory. Luke elaborates, “One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets,’” (Luke 5:1-5).

Peter had to “reel” between some of his raw emotions; he was tired, maybe even grumpy…I would be from an all-nighter. And of all things, Jesus asked him to do the same thing all over again. Is it possible that Peter thought maybe Jesus should stick to the teaching and he (Peter) stick to the fishing?

Kyle Idleman points out four emotions that we all deal with and should face: discouragement, fatigue, frustration, and anxiety. Recently, at a conference Tony Cloud echoed something very similar and expressed with deep concern if we fail to address these real issues and emotions in our lives, there will be a day of reckoning that forces us to acknowledge reality. That could be a major emotional and physical breakdown. Identifying these emotions helps us to understand the broken place they are coming from and how our lives might be spinning out of control.

Our response is a key indicator of how we handle the challenges. Shutting our emotions off is a recipe for disaster. Simon’s character although tested gives us hope and a pattern to follow. Verse 5, “…But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” Obedience requires humble submission (vs. 8). Peter didn’t lead with excuses or complaints, he was honest. After obeying Jesus and casting the nets out a second time, the crew could hardly manage the massive catch of fish.