HOW CAN YOU COMBAT Negative Feelings?

Be Aware of God's Interest in You

Some people think that God is too occupied with other matters to give attention to their personal feelings. Is that how you feel? Actually, the Bible assures us that our Creator is concerned about our feelings.  The psalmist said:  "Jehovah is near to those who are broken at heart; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves." (Psalm 34:18)  How comforting it is to know that the almighty Sovereign  is near to us when we are in distress!

God is not cold or aloof. The Bible says that "God is Love." (1 John 4:8) He loves people and is sensitive toward those who suffer. For example, when the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt some 3,500 years ago, he said: "Unquestionably I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their outcry as a result of those who drive them to work; because I well know the pains they suffer. And I am proceeding to go down to deliver them." -Exodus 3:7, 8.

God well knows our emotional makeup. After all, "it is he that has made us, and not we ourselves." (Psalm 100:3) Thus, even when we feel that our fellow humans do not understand us,, we can be sure that God understands.  God's Word states:  "Not the way man sees is the way God sees, because mere man sees what appears to the eyes; but as for Jehovah, he sees what the heart is." (1 Samuel 16:7) Even out innermost feelings are not hidden from God.

Granted, Jehovah is also aware of our mistakes  and flaws. But we can be thankful that our Maker is forgiving.  The inspired Bible writer David said:  As a father shows mercy to his sons, Jehovah has shown mercy to those fearing him.  For he himself  knows the formation of us, remembering that we are dust." (Psalm 1-3:13, 14)  God sees us as we may not see ourselves. He looks for the good and dismisses the bad, as long as we repent of our sins. -Psalm 139:1-3, 23, 24. 

Thus, when we are plagued by feelings of worthlessness, we need to be determined to fight back. We must remember how God sees us! -1 John 3:20.

Next time: HOW CAN YOU COMBAT Negative Feelings? - Develop a Close Friendship With God

From the Watchtower magazine, 2010