Issue 12: How Are You Feeling Today?

From the Desk of a Christian Neuropsychologist

Author

Matthew Bridgman, PhD
September 02, 2025

Scripture for today:
 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… and love your neighbor as yourself.” — Matthew 22:37–39

💡 Big Idea

How are you feeling right now? What emotions are stirring in you? Are they pleasant or unpleasant? Intense or mild? Helpful or unhelpful?

Emotions matter. They are part of God’s design, woven into what it means to bear His image. From Genesis to Revelation we see emotion throughout Scripture:

  • Pleasure — Trees “pleasing to the eye” (Genesis 2:9)

  • Fear — Adam hiding from God in the garden (Genesis 3:10)

  • Delight — Blessed is the one “whose delight is in the law of the Lord” (Psalm 1:2)

  • Sorrow — Jesus’ soul “overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38)

  • Joy — “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters…” (James 1:2)

  • Comfort and relief — “He will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4)

This is only a sampling, but the picture is clear: God created us as emotional beings.

And notice—the greatest commandment is about love. Yes, love is action, but God never intended it to be only action. Loving Him and loving others involves both choice and feeling. It is action rooted in emotion - and this is part of our greatest purpose in life. 

Because we live in a fallen world, though, our emotions are mixed. Sometimes they reflect God’s good design—a glimpse of Heaven breaking in. Other times they are twisted by sin and weaponized against us in spiritual battles.

That’s why discernment is essential.

✅ What To Do About It

Start paying attention to your emotional life:

  1. Notice. Pause during the day and ask, What emotion is showing up right now?

  2. Label. Do you have a word for it? Expanding your “emotion vocabulary” helps bring clarity.

  3. Discern. Ask: Is this emotion reflecting God’s design (moving me toward love, truth, peace)? Or is it distorted (pulling me away from God and neighbors)?

  4. Respond. Choose whether to act on the emotion, reframe it, or release it in prayer.

Remember: emotions are not enemies to suppress or masters to obey. They are signals—part of God’s design—meant to be understood, tested, and guided by His Spirit.

In Him,

Dr. Matt
Christian Neuropsychologist | Fellow Traveler in Faith and Clarity
https://clearmindweekly.beehiiv.com/ 
www.drmattbridgman.com