You make me so angry. You're making me depressed. How often have we all said things like these? When you make these kinds of statements, you're actually giving up control of your emotions to someone else. How many times have we given our emotions up to someone or some circumstance freely? This can cause us to become emotionally drained. However, we must be emotionally resiliant because that's what God really wants from us.

The emotions that God has given you should be your strength. Building emotional strength begins with and lies within perceptions.

Everyone can perceive something differently in a situation. For example, imaging hiking on a trail and hearing a noise. When you look down in front of you, you see a snake on the trail. Your emotions--your perceptions--caused you to become scared. But, a split-second later, you actually find out that it's just a stick. In that small bit of time, your mind truly believed that you were in danger. Your perception had become reality to you at that moment.

Here's another example: You were excited to experience the spontaneity of your spouse back when you first started dating. But after years of marriage, you've come to loathe that same spontaneous spirit that they possess. So, did they change or did you change. We all know the answer.

Emotions allow you to feel what you're thinking about at that moment. Emotions are the consequences of repetitious thoughts, which can compound upon one another. Controlling your thoughts can lead to controlling your emotions.

Let's take a look at some negative emotions for a moment. Of these, which few (or all?) negative emotions do you want to see decrease in your life?

fear, resentment, bitterness, burden, lonliness, fatigue, rage, guilt, insecurity, overload, depression, exhaustion

Now, which of these do you want to see increase?

joy, excitement, contentment, confidence, peace, passion, drive, satisfaction, enthusiasm, gratitude, awe

If you really take the time to work on these emotions in the next 30 days, you'll start to say to yourself that "everyone's changed! Hallelujah!". In reality, it was you!

So, how exactly can one decrease the negative and increase the positive?

1. The Law of Attention - Whatever you think about--meditate about--will demand your attention and become cemented in your mind. If you follow the Bible and say to yourself that you "are the head and not the tail," that will become reality. However, if you tell yourself that you always make mistakes, you are bound to make them. If you simply stop thinking about an emotion that you don't want, it will die away. Why? Lack of attention.

2. The Law of Exchange - Your mind can only hold one thought at a time. Saying to yourself "I don't want to think about that" does what? It makes you think about that! So, you need to replace that thought. God takes our sin and replaces it with blessings if we accept them; it's the same basic concept for our thoughts. If we focus on Him, we will be filled with peace and negative emotions cannot penetrate that.

3. The Law of Reversability - The Bible says that we can act our way into feeling. If you can't every control yourself enough to do this, then you will be cursed to spontaneous emotions and perceptions controlling your life. How many of us want to get up in the morning and workout? Not many, but most of us do because we know that once we're done, we feel great physically and excited emotionally.

Pray: "Lord, I take control of my thoughts by meditating on the positive and stopping & starving the negative. God, be with me as I look to you to increase those positive emotions that I desire and change my perceptions of those around me. Amen!"