Devotional Four: Emotions, Essential Yet Tricky

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

–I Corinthians 13:7

ANNA:    All my life has been a series of doors in my face 

And then suddenly I bump into you...

Say goodbye to the pain of the past 

We don't have to feel it anymore!

–Frozen

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Infatuation is a tricky emotion in the sense that our feelings can deceive us. The zing of the heart strings can blind us to the red flags of the charms of others. Anna is more than just a hopeless romantic. Her feelings from the loss of her parents and the abandonment of Elsa leave Anna open to the charming wiles of Prince Hans.

Yet to be down entirely on feelings isn’t a good way to look at the world. Feelings might be an unreliable measure for making important decisions, but as the image bearers of God, feelings are a beautiful part of our existence. Jesus himself experienced emotions from grief to anger to joy to doubt. The unique thing about the emotions of Jesus is that, unlike the inconstancy of our emotions, Jesus felt everything in a perfect way. He was able to be angry and not sin as a result. For the fallen nature of man, our anger can and sometimes does lead to sin.

Again, Frozen presents two very different views on the power of emotions. Anna wants love so desperately that she fails to see Prince Hans as more than an infatuation. Elsa wants to protect Anna so fiercely from her powers that she gives into fear and shuts herself away from Anna. Neither of these approaches is healthy. Both indulgence and restriction can lead to devastating consequences.

As we prepare to journey through Frozen on stage this March, please take some time to think through how the Lord might use the examples of Anna and Elsa to help you process the essential yet tricky emotions we all feel.