Escaping the Enemy’s Emotional Trap

Do you realize, child of God, that many poor choices we have made in our lives are the result of giving in to our emotions?

God has given us emotions, and that’s good, but the problem arises when we allow emotions to take over and start leading us in our decisions. I have seen so many children of God make this mistake, and as a result, many lives, marriages, and ministries have been destroyed.

2 Corinthians 10:5 says, We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

When you allow your emotions to take over, you give way to arguments, strife, and lofty opinions. This makes you weak in resisting the devil. This is a place where demons can take over your mind and your thinking.

But God’s Word says that you should bring your thoughts into subjection to the Word of God and the thoughts of God.

According to the Bible, a man without self-control is like a city broken down and left without walls (Proverbs 25:28). This is so powerful! Imagine a city without walls! This city has absolutely no protection around it, and other nations can trample over it any time. This is exaclty how a man (or woman) who has no self control looks like.

That’s why Ephesians 4:26 says, “Be angry, and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your wrath.”

In other words, God is saying it is okay to be angry, but don’t allow the emotion of anger to take over you, because it can lead you to fall into sin. That’s why God is saying, before the sun goes down, take your mind captive.

Child of God, remember you have the mind of Christ, and you need to constantly transform yourself by the renewal of your mind. Because when you are not transformed by the renewal of your mind on a daily basis, you will end up allowing your emotions to take over, jeopardizing your life and sabotaging your relationships.

God wants you to be led by His Spirit, and your decisions must come from a place of rest and hearing God.

What to do when your emotions are overwhelming you?

When Jesus lived on the earth, although He was fully God, He was also fully man, experiencing the same emotions we do. I think of that moment in the Garden of Gethsemane, just before His crucifixion, when He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me…” (Matthew 26:39).

In that moment, He was deeply distressed and overwhelmed, not only by the physical suffering He was about to endure, but by the weight of taking upon Himself the sin of the world and the reality of being separated from the Father.

But He didn’t allow His emotions to get the better of Him, He ended that prayer with: “Yet not my will, but Yours be done.”

This is an important key for us. So, what to do when your emotions are overwhemling you?

Pray and surrender your will to God, just like Jesus did.

If you are someone who struggles with your emotions, when you find yourself in an argument, try withdrawing instead of allowing your emotions to take over and saying things you will later regret.

Sometimes God may be leading you to forgive the very person who hurt you, but you justify your stance. Instead try surrendering and taking captive of your pain and emotions, because at the end of the day, you want to do His will and not your own.

Sometimes, when you feel like not going to church or isolating yourself because of the hurt you’ve received from people, what should you do? Don’t fall into the enemy’s emotional trap. Instead, do the exact opposite! Crucify your emotional self and bring yourself under the obedience of the Word. In other words, choose to do what the Word of God says, regardless of how you feel. The Bible is clear in Hebrew 10:25: “Not neglecting to meet together.”

How the enemy schemes with your emotions

Have you realized that when you allow your emotions to take over, that’s exactly when the whole world seems to echo and agree with your feelings? At that very moment, you’ll see that YouTube video or Instagram post pop up, justifying your emotional decisions and telling you, “You need to stand up for yourself,” “You can’t be a doormat,” or “Fight for what you feel is right.” The enemy knows that we are constantly feeding our senses with information from videos and social media, and he will use that to push you into making a decision that is not Spirit-led.

At that moment, don’t go by what your heart says because the Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9,

“The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?”

Child of God, I want you to make it a habit to be led by the Spirit of God and not by your emotions, daily, little by little.