How Jesus Handled Big Emotions

Sometimes our emotions are big and loud and refuse to be ignored.

Fear screams at us, worry taunts us, and frustration grinds away at any peace we might have otherwise had.

It can be overwhelming.

But when we face feelings that will not be quieted, we can know we’re not alone.

Jesus experienced big emotions, too.

The night before the cross, Scripture describes Him as being “exceedingly sorrowful,” “severely troubled” and in such “agony” that He sweat drops of blood.

This makes perfect sense, considering that the next day He would face excruciating physical pain (from hanging on the cross), unfathomable spiritual pain (from bearing the guilt of humanity’s sin), and intimate relational pain (from being abandoned by His closest friends).

It’s no wonder that Jesus became so deeply grieved and troubled that night.

But the way He handled His emotions in this overwhelming moment is truly beautiful.

And from His example, we can learn 5 powerful strategies for handling big emotions:

Maintain your spiritual habits despite your feelings.

Luke 22:39 says that after Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples, “He came out and went, as His custom was, to the Mount of Olives…” (WEB)

We know what He did there, customarily. He prayed.

Luke 5:16 says, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (NIV). And Luke 6:12 says, “In these days, He went out to the mountain to pray, and He continued all night in prayer to God.” (WEB)

This was one of Jesus’ regular practices—and He did not abandon it when emotions were high.

This challenges me.

All too often, when I’m overwhelmed or in a difficult situation I don’t “feel like” maintaining my spiritual habits—I don’t feel like praying or reading my Bible, going to church, or serving someone else as unto the Lord.

And yet these practices become all the more important when we are overwhelmed. They will nourish us and help carry us, if we won’t abandon them.

If you are currently in a season of calm, I’d encourage you to begin establishing some healthy spiritual habits now, so you can fall back on them in the future when hard times or big emotions come.

(I plan to write a post about spiritual habits soon, so join the email list below if you’d like to learn more).

Invite someone into what you’re going through.

Jesus took His disciples with Him to that mountain and He let them know how He was feeling.

Look at what Matthew 26:36-38 says:

“Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and severely troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with me.” (WEB)

God never intended us to go through life as islands. He made us for community and relationship with other people. So when you are going through something hard, don’t isolate. Don’t go through it alone.

Seek out the presence of trustworthy people and let them know how you are feeling.

Whether they offer practical resources to you, a new perspective or merely their presence and prayers, having a someone beside you will make a world of difference.

Get real with God.

After speaking to Peter, James and John, Jesus’ continues in Matthew 26:39…

“He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire.” (WEB)

Jesus approached the Father with no facade.

He fell on His face and honestly brought His request to the only One who understood and could help.

And if Jesus could be real with God the Father, so can we.

God doesn’t need us to pretend with Him. He already knows our thoughts, feelings and desires and He invites us to bring them all, unfiltered, to Him in prayer.

Don’t let your feelings talk you out of obedience.

The second part of Jesus’ prayer is most challenging to me personally.

It’s pretty easy to pour out my heart to God. It’s decidedly not easy to tell God, “You get to decide,” when His will isn’t always comfortable.

Yet this is what Jesus modeled for us.

“Nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire,” He prayed as He looked toward the cross.

Jesus’ ultimate goal in life was not to honor His feelings, but His Father. And so while He did express those desires and emotions, they did not get the final word in His life.

Jesus remained resolutely surrendered to what God had called Him to do.

I pray the Holy Spirit will enable us to do the same. When emotions rage and everything inside of us wants to quit, I pray we will remain surrendered and obedient to what God has called us to do–morally, relationally and vocationally.

Stay awake.

“When he rose up from his prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, and said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” (Matthew 22:45-46, WEB)

Can you relate to the disciples who slept out of sadness?

Sometimes our emotions can exhaust us to the point that we just want to disconnect and escape for a while—through sleep, or stress-eating, or binge-watching.

And while there’s nothing wrong with taking a break to rest and find balance, we need to be on guard against escapism.

Jesus told His disciples to wake up from their slumber and pray instead.

Escapism offers no true solutions and no lasting comfort. But connecting to God through prayer offers both.

Prayer calls on the One who can bring us consolation, who can help us think rightly about our circumstances and who can defend us from the enemy.

That last point is especially important. We should never forget that we are particularly vulnerable to temptation when emotions are high. After all, it wasn’t long after Peter’s nap, that he denied Jesus three times out of fear.

So let’s heed Jesus’ words to the disciples and stay awake, praying through our feelings rather than disconnecting from them.

Because truly, as Psalm 62:8 says, “God is a refuge for us.” (WEB)

This passage has so much to teach us about facing big emotions.

But the biggest takeaway here is that we have a Savior who can sympathize with us.

I love what Hebrews 4:15 says about Jesus: “For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.”

Jesus experienced big emotions, too.

And He shows us that we don’t have to face them alone.

Scripture quotations taken from the World English Bible. Public Domain.

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