"Now the truth is, that this life is not to be lived in the emotions at all, but in the will, and therefore the varying states of emotion do not in the least disturb or affect the reality of the life, if only the will is kept steadfastly abiding in its center, God's will. . . . By the will I do not mean the wish of man, nor even his purpose, but the choice, the deciding power, the king, to which all that is in the man must yield obedience. . . . Our emotions belong to us, and are suffered and enjoyed by us, but they are not ourselves; and if God is to take possession of us, it must be into this central will or personality that He shall enter. If, then, He is reigning there by the power of His Spirit, all the rest of our nature must come under His sway; and as the will is, so is the man."
This really helped me obtain a tighter grasp on the concept that my emotions are completely separate from my responsibility to God. Now if only I can remember and apply this when I am tempted to use how I feel as an excuse to sin...
-Hannah Witall Smith (1832-1911), The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life
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