Bottling up emotions can mean hiding one’s true feelings and thoughts to avoid burdening others, to maintain a facade of strength, or live up to social norms.
Job 32: 18-20 NIV
For I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me; Inside I Am like a bottled - up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst. I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply.
How many of us have experienced this stage of life where we have suppressed our feelings or the sins we have committed? We can either release these feelings, suppress them, or become resentful and give in to the pressure, or we can choose to acknowledge our feelings and the sin in our hearts.
Repressing our feelings will either make us resentful or harm our health. Some people turn to friends or well-wishers who appear to be supportive but are actually telling everyone about what you have revealed. Be wary of such people who appear to love you but are actually plotting how to use what you have revealed against you; they might even record it without your knowledge and use it against you later.
If we read the book of Job, we learn that his friends, rather than offering him support and consolation, try to talk about the mistakes he may have made in order to get him into the predicament he was in. Then, a young man named Elihu appears and contradicts both Job and his friends. He also declares God's justice and goodness and denounces self-righteousness. Then, out of the whirlwind, God speaks to Job and reveals His Omnipotence. Job's life is restored a hundredfold only after he has repented and prayed for his friends.
God knows each of us better than anybody else in the world, thus it is preferable to turn to him than to man. It is preferable to let all of our emotions out in God's presence rather than repressing them. Only then would God's shalom serenity flood our hearts and free us from all emotions to live in freedom. Because there is freedom where the spirit of the Lord is present. The spirit already resides inside us, but it is repressed because of the feelings that have arisen.
Father God, thank you for being there. I pray that I will acknowledge you in every situation of my life and that I will turn to you to let out my feelings because I know that you will provide me with relief from all of my inner pain. I pray that I will remember that you have helped me get to where I am today and that you have supported me throughout my life. I may have stumbled along the way or met people who have caused me to experience the pain I am going through, but I will never forget that you are still there and waiting for me to turn to you.
In Jesus Mighty Name I Pray.
Amen, Amen and Amen.
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