Personal Benefits of Biblical Emotion Exegesis, Part 2
Benefits of Biblical Emotion Exegesis
As I wrote last week, I have found five distinct benefits of studying the emotions in Biblical passages:
- We see God more clearly
- We make valuable connections
- We tell the passage better
- We receive emotional healing
- We can model a lifestyle of transformative encounters with God
Last week I discussed benefits 1-3. This week I pick up with benefits 4 and 5.
4. We receive emotional healing
1 The Spirit of the Almighty LORD is with me because the LORD… has sent me to heal those who are brokenhearted… Isaiah 61:1 GOD’S WORD Translation
God commissioned and empowered Jesus to heal brokenhearted people. The presence of sin guarantees that our hearts will be broken. Some of us know we have broken hearts. Others of us think we are just fine until we encounter a situation that shows us we are not. Either way, all of us need Jesus’ healing touch.
The deep biblical study required to exegete emotions poises us to encounter every broken area in our hearts. As we search the Word of God, it will begin to search us and cut like a scalpel, “as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet” (Hebrews 4:12). His Word will bring death to our flesh and enliven our spiritual lives.
God’s Word uncovered brokenness in my heart recently. I was pondering Jesus’ emotions during His rejection at Nazareth (Mark 6:1-8) when, suddenly, my heart began shrinking in fear. I did not want to be rejected. At the same time, I started to remember how this fear of rejection led me to ignore God’s gentle leading multiple times during my undergrad at a secular university. Jesus always listened to the Father and showed no fear at the prospect of losing relationships in Nazareth. My emotional life was out of sync with Jesus’ emotions. Something—or, rather, someone—needed to change, and it was not Jesus.
This was God’s invitation for me to repent of my fears and receive emotional healing.
I took it.
I started with confession (1 John 1:8-9). I told God that I was scared of being rejected and had at times not obeyed His gentle leading out of fear that I would lose relationships with others. I asked Him to forgive me and give me the faith and boldness Jesus had in Nazareth. My heart gradually shifted as I prayed and, by the end, I could imagine myself going with Jesus to preach in Nazareth. I still do not relish the thought of rejection, but my heart has healed enough from the fear of it that I can more easily obey God even when I may face rejection. As we study emotions in God’s Word, Jesus will bind up our broken hearts (Isaiah 61:1).
5. We can model a lifestyle of transformational encounters with God
If you are the exegete on a translation team, the pastor of a church, the leader of a small group, or an artist, you can transparently share with your audience how God touched your heart through the Bible. Your story gives them an example of what transformation could look like and an invitation to see Christ do the same thing in their lives.
Some of the most influential speakers in my life delivered no sermon. They simply shared how God had touched their hearts through Bible passages. These people did not use eloquent words. In fact, I do not remember a single word they used. I do remember, though, what happened while they shared. The Holy Spirit kindled a firm faith and deep desire to see what happened in their lives also happen in mine. He inspired me with testimonies of how meditation on the Scriptures had set college students free from self-hatred and fear. As a result, I shifted my daily time in the Word to be a time of engaging deeply with the emotional landscape of the characters. I felt like I encountered God over and over. Within a year of my starting this practice, God had healed many of those same issues in my heart. I then began to disciple a high-school classmate using some of my own stories. God used these stories, and the witness of others, to inspire him to a passionate commitment to Christ. He is still one of my closest friends.
Prayerfully studying the emotional aspects of the Bible transformed me into a witness who encourages others to seek a deeper relationship with God. The same can happen with anyone.
My Challenge for You
I am sure that God’s Word has healed an area of brokenness in your heart. Ask God for an opportunity to share one of those times with someone who needs to hear it. When He gives you the opportunity, take it.
If you take me up on the challenge, I would love to hear what God does!
Sources
- GOD’S WORD Translation. 1995. Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group.
- Icons:
- The eye
- The connections
- The heart
- The road and cross