First posted to: https://surehopecounseling.com/scripture-validates-human-emotion/
There is something profoundly comforting when we recognize and deeply internalize the truth that God made himself in human likeness (Philippians 2:7), and Jesus both understands the realities of being human on this side of eternity and empathizes with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15). He doesn’t expect us to be robots who are void of complex feelings and sentiments, and human emotion is not something that Jesus bypassed let alone trivialized. Rather, he leaned into emotions as part of the human experience, and we see this all throughout scripture. Jesus understands emotions deeply and validates them all the while showing us how to express them in a way that brings glory to God. He provides us with guidance, comfort, encouragement and aid as we too journey through the various emotional highs and lows.
Scripture is rich with evidence that supports God’s support of emotions but it’s easy to create an inaccurate view of God and emotions if we are not rooted in accurate doctrine. This is a lifelong spiritual discipline in itself but one that is instrumental to our healing and freedom as disciples of Jesus. John Mark Comer speaks to this well:
Doctrine does matter — very much — but not to “pass the test” and get into heaven. It matters because we become like our vision of God. The goal of reading Scripture is not information but spiritual formation. To take on the “mind of Christ. “To actually think like Jesus thinks. To fill your mind with the thoughts of God so regularly and deeply that it literally rewires your brain, and from there, your whole person.1
There are so many ways that scripture can both inform us and transform us specifically with emotions. We may have grown up being told to suppress our emotions and categorize them as unuseful or told they are absolute truth and now they rule and lord over us. Regardless, our experiences and relationship to emotions does impact our relationship and intimacy with Jesus, for better or for worse. It impacts how we view both God and thus the world.
In Genesis 1, towards the end of the creation story, we read:
Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26-27).
Make sure you catch that.
God created mankind in his own image (imago dei).
God whose ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9) created us with great intentionality and purpose to reflect his character and bring him glory. Comer articulates it this way:
Our job is to make the invisible God visible — to mirror and mimic what he is like to the world. We can glorify God by doing our work in such a way that we make the invisible God visible by what we do and how we do it.2
And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I want you to remember that we are made in his image down to how we interact with and express emotions. God did not give us emotions to suppress or to reign over us. He gave us emotions to connect with him, ourselves, others, and our world in a way that was always for our good and flourishing.
Another way to say this is God, who created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1), who all things were created through him and for him (Colossians 1:16), expresses emotions and feels deeply.
Jesus wept (John 11:35).
Jesus felt anguish (Luke 22:44).
Jesus showed compassion (Mark 6:34)
Jesus was well acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3)
Jesus demonstrated anger and zeal for God’s house (John 2:13-17)
Human beings are emotional creatures with God breathed purpose and intentionality. We feel deeply because God created us this way, and Jesus shows us that spiritual and emotional maturity go hand in hand. He displays a high level of emotional awareness and models how emotions – positive or negative – are places to meet with God.
In Peter Scazzero’s book, The Emotionally Healthy Church: A Strategy for Discipleship that Actually Changes Lives” he states, “in neglecting our intense emotions, we are false to ourselves and lose a wonderful opportunity to know God. We forget that change comes through brutal honesty and vulnerability before God.”3
Scazzero also adds:
When we deny our pain, losses, and feelings year after year, we become less and less human. We transform slowly into empty shells with smiley faces painted on them. Sad to say, that is the fruit of much of our discipleship in our churches. But when I began to allow myself to feel a wider range of emotions, including sadness, depression, fear, and anger, a revolution in my spirituality was unleashed. I soon realized that a failure to appreciate the biblical place of feelings within our larger Christian lives has done extensive damage, keeping free people in Christ in slavery.4
What an interesting perspective. Emotions are not only deeply part of the human experience but help people, when rooted in discipleship to Jesus, live in greater freedom. To deny our feelings is to deny being the imago dei which ultimately numbs our hearts to the Lord and the inner work he wants to do within us. To grow more in the image of Christ requires us saying “yes” to the invitation for God to grow us more in emotional health.
Much easier said than done.
So, what’s a practical way to start letting yourself feel that ushers in light and deeper connection with God?
Practicing the Way offers great prompts for practicing emotional awareness and “getting in touch with your feelings.” Here are a few of their suggestions5:
Let yourself feel.
Assess what emotions rise to the surface of your heart, whether big or small. For example, joy, hopefulness, gratitude, sadness, emptiness, fatigue, worry, guilt and shame, loneliness, conviction.
Lean in and name “the good, the bad, and the ugly” of your emotional state. It may be tempting to run away from what you are feeling. Remember, in avoiding intense emotions, we are inauthentic with ourselves and thwart beautiful opportunities to better know God. As best as possible, let yourself feel it, deeply.
Ask yourself the question: “What are you doing here, ______?”
Is there anything God is attempting to say to you through these emotions?
Scazzero beautifully articulates that, “Ignoring our emotions is turning our back on reality. Listening to our emotions ushers us into reality. And reality is where we meet God…Emotions are the language of the soul. They are the cry that gives the heart a voice. . .”4
Pray.
Be honest, not polished. Give whatever you are feeling and experiencing to God, whether it be positive or negative. Remove the filter.
If you are happy – celebrate, sing, dance!
If you are grateful, tell God what for with specificity.
If you’re anxious, try to cast your worries unto God (1 Peter 5:6) and ask for his peace in return. He cares.
If you’re sitting in unanswered questions about your circumstances or future, hold that tension before God. Communicate with God about how it feels not to have an answer. As much as it may be tempting to do so, don’t force clarity where there is none. Try to be patient before God with all that is unsolved in your heart. He can handle it. He desires dialogue.
God, thank you for being there in our highs and lows. Thank you for making us in your image and likeness. Please guide us daily in the new life Jesus won for us so that we may honor you in all we feel, say and do. Amen.
-Carlyn Wood – learn more about working with Carlyn here!
1. Comer, John Mark. Live No Lies Comer, John Mark. WaterBrook, 2021.
2. Comer, John Mark. Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human. Zondervan, 2021.
3. Scazzero, Peter, and Warren Bird. The Emotionally Healthy Church: A Strategy for Discipleship That Actually Changes Lives. Zondervan, 2015.
4. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: Unleash a Revolution in Your Life in Christ. Thomas Nelson, 2011.
5. Comer, John Mark. “Emotional Health.” Practicing the Way, Practicing the Way, https://practicingthewayarchives.org/silence-solitude/week-two. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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