Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you, Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid – John 14:27.

There are good and bad emotions, and we all have them at one time or another. When destructive emotions flare up, we must dismiss them; otherwise, we will be angry, hurt, and experiencing all the other destructive emotions attached to them.

According to Vincent Newfield, we as a nation consume five billion tranquilizers, five billion barbiturates, three billion amphetamines, and sixteen thousand aspirins a year. This does not include alcohol, nicotine, and various other stimulants.

God created us with emotions and empowered us to control them. Many people are stuck in time; they can’t get over what was said or done to them. Some live out the lives others have spoken to them rather than living the lives God has created for them.

So many seek relief through stimulants, alcohol, nicotine, and drugs; yes, there are times when someone needs to be placed on medications for a limited time until they can function without the prescription. Some medicines cannot be taken if the person will look within themselves to see what is making them feel the way they’re feeling.

A lot of lousy emotion comes from holding on to unforgiveness and offenses. Rather than looking at the problem, people take medications to cure it when all they have to do is forgive and release the person or persons. People would be surprised at all the toxic emotions that come with unforgiveness and offenses.

Rather than looking at the person, we need to self-examine ourselves. What is causing me to feel like I do? If we examine ourselves truthfully, we will find the cause. There is nothing wrong with being angry, but don’t make it your friend!

Pastor Charles Swindoll said the most important decisions we can make every day are the attitudes we choose. Our choice of attitude is more important than our education, positions, successes or failures, money in our bank account, what people think or say about us, our circumstances, or anything else. Our attitude will either keep us going or hinder and damage our progress.

We may not be able to change our circumstances, but we can change our attitude. Most importantly, place the Lord in the circumstance with you. He’s the one who can defeat all thoughts and emotions that come to us when we are truthful and tell Him what is going on in our hearts and minds.