I feel anxiety, frustration, fear, happiness, sadness, and many other emotions at times. I don't believe I am in control of the initial feelings, but what I am in control of is the response to those feelings. " Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger." (Eph. 4:26 ESV) It is not anger that is sin, but how I handle it. Emotions, in my opinion, are a gift from God. Does not fear protect us? Is not the beginning of wisdom fear? I believe it is good for us to recognize and identify our feelings, and to not let our emotions get the best of us.
Bridges asks toward the end of the chapter, Can you picture Jesus ever being anxious or frustrated? My answer is yes, I think so. What about in the temple with the selling of animals for sacrifice? What about in the garden when he was in agony and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground? I believe that the sin is not in the emotion itself, but rather can be found in inappropriate reaction to those emotions. I think we would both agree that our response to feelings and emotions always needs to focus on God rather than ourselves.
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