The Manipulative Power Of Mood

Living in a fallen age, in fallen bodies, in which our fallen natures compete with our recover natures for control, we sadly can't maintain a strategic distance from the maladie of terrible mood

We are not, however, victims of these moods, and we certainly must not make others victims of them, either. Instead, we must develop the skilled habit of challenging them, ruling

over them (Romans 6:12), and laying them aside so that they don’t weigh us (or others) down in the race of faith (Hebrews 12:1).

But we’re all still guided by our moods too often — by certain emotions we like, and others we don’t like. We forget that these emotions are gauges, so we don’t trace our moods back to their cause. Rather, when we feel emotions we don’t like, we quickly look to anything that might alter them to something more pleasant.

This makes us vulnerable to all sorts of temptations. Satan can easily manipulate us when we would rather superficially alter our mood than address its underlying beliefs. All we have to do is think about our own besetting sins. They are often habitual sinful reactions to emotions and moods we’re desperately trying to alter or escape.

But we’re not only manipulated by our moods; we also use them to manipulate others. We know that others dislike and resist unpleasant emotions just like we do. So our sinful, selfish natures seek to use this to our advantage. We leverage our bad moods to make others unhappy in order to get them to do what we want or to punish them for hurting us.

Moods become sinful weights for us when they do not help us identify our beliefs and align them with God’s promises. We weaponize our moods when they become a means of Satan either to emotionally manipulate us and to allow us to emotionally manipulate others.

                                       Question Your Mood

The snappiest approach to drop the heaviness of manipulative ill humor is to employ our state of mind in the way God planned it: as a gage of our conviction. We should question our temperament. What is energizing it?

To begin with, figure out if or not it's a body science issue. Menstrual cycles, pregnancy, and baby blues hormonal irregular characteristics are celebrated mind-set influencers. So are ailment and malady. Some of the time the main pointer that I'm contracting this season's flu virus or an awful frosty is an obscure disheartening or second rate despondency. Doctor prescribed prescription, malady treatment, caffeine, sugar, "mind-set improving" unlawful medications (clearly) all can change our body science and influence our states of mind. So do dysfunctional behavior, ceaseless torment, and lack of sleep.

We must still fight to trust God’s promises even if our bodies aren’t working right. But a chemistry issue typically must be addressed with a chemistry solution, including prayer for God’s healing of the chemistry issue.

Here are three case from Scripture that outline how this functions:

• Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you (Psalm 42:5–6).
• My soul continually remembers [my affliction and my wanderings] and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him” (Lamentations 3:20–24).
• “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me” (John 14:1).