The Believer and Emotion 429
life! All who desire to be spiritual must conduct themselves daily
according to principle.
One quality which characterizes a spiritual person is the great
calm he maintains under every circumstance. Whatever may happen
around him or however much he may be provoked, he accepts it all
calmly and exhibits an unmovable nature. He is one who is able to
regulate his every feeling, because his emotion has been yielded to
the cross and his will and spirit are permeated with the power of the
Holy Spirit. No extreme provocation has the strength to unsettle him.
But if one has not accepted the dealing of the cross upon his emotion,
then he will be easily influenced, stimulated, disturbed, and even
governed by the external world. He will undergo constant change, for
emotion shifts often. The slightest threat from outside or the smallest
increase in work shall upset him and render him helpless. Whoever
genuinely desires to be perfect must let the cross cut deeper into his
emotion.
If the Christian would simply bear in mind that God does not lead
anyone who is in turmoil, he might be spared many errors. Never
decide on anything or start to do anything while emotion is agitating
like a roaring sea; it is in times of great emotional upheaval that
mistakes are readily made. Our mind too becomes undependable in
such periods because it is easily affected by feeling. And with a
powerless mind, how can we ever distinguish right from wrong?
Again, during that time even our conscience is rendered unreliable.
As emotion pulsates, the mind becomes deceived and conscience is
denied its standard of judgment. Whatever is decided and performed
in such circumstances is bound to be improper and will be something
to be regretted afterwards. A believer should exercise his will to
resist and to terminate such fomented feeling; solely when his
emotion is no longer boiling but returns to perfect calm can he decide
what he should do.