If you experience mood swings, you know how unpredictable your moods can be. Don't you just wish you knew how to deal with them once and for all? I'm pretty sure you do – especially if you realize just how troublesome they are.
I am writing this for all beloved brothers and sisters who wish to be free from their mood swings. Don't worry. There's hope in Christ.
Foundations
I know that people who have a medical background might say mood swings are caused by hormonal or chemical imbalances in their brain. Let me just say that according to the Bible, anything that we can't say "no" to is our slave driver. Romans 6:16 tells us,
"Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?"
If you're tossed and driven around by your uncontrolled emotions, then you're simply a slave to your moods. It simply follows that your moods are your master.
If you've been enslaved by your mood swings for the longest time, you'll know how oppressive they are. You want to have fun in your life or your ministry, but your mood changes and suddenly you're irritable and can't serve others right. You want to go to prayer group, but then your mood changes and you choose to stay home to eat a whole cake or binge watch your favorite Netflix show instead. Frustrating, right?
Freedom from Mood Swings
Dear Christian, you've got to realize that you can break free from slavery to your moods. How? Here are a few things you should do:
Repent
Friend, we can only have one master, and if our moods are our masters, then Christ surely isn't (see Matthew 6:24). As Christians, we have to realize that having a master other than Christ is wrong!
First, we need to repent of our obedience to our mood swings. When we enslave ourselves to our moods we enslave ourselves to our fleshly and soulish desires, rendering us unable to obey God's word.
Put your faith in Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ's finished work sets us free from everything that held us captive, even our emotions that aren't in line with God's will! Read what the Lord Jesus said:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19)
Christ Jesus came to set you free from all that oppressed you and hindered you from coming to Him, and that includes your mood swings. Believe it. At salvation, Christ freed you from the grip of sin and death, even your moods.
Take control of your emotions
Did you know that in Christ, you can take control of the emotions that used to control you? The Bible commands us,
"Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:13)
When we say "gird up the loins of your mind," we picture ourselves holding straps or ropes to bind and tighten our minds and command it to think of what Christ has done for and to us, just like how farmers guide oxen. When the mood swings from joyful in God to fearful in the flesh, we yank it back to trusting in God!
Moods are very closely connected to our thoughts. In fact, a wrong thought often triggers the bad mood. We may not be saying it out loud, but our internal voice is saying bad things about someone or even about ourselves or our situation; we're passing judgment; we're complaining; we're not speaking words of gratitude or praise; we're choosing to focus on the negatives.
Closely examine your thoughts. What are you saying to yourself? What are you thinking about? Do they line up with the Word of God? Are you seeing others or your situation as God would want you to?
Take command of your thoughts and control them with the Word of God. Don't let them control you.
Make your feelings – and yourself – obey Christ
We must command our feelings and thoughts to obey the Lord Jesus Christ all the time. 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us to take "every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."
Friend, when your mood swings, realize that you can grab a hold of it and command it to obey God's word. When our feelings tell us to obey the longings of the flesh, like binge-eating or doing sinful things, we have to ignore our feelings and continue living in repentance, choosing to do what's right, not what we feel.
Most important of all
Friends, we must learn to live by the Spirit of God. When we walk in the Spirit, mood swings are easily handled and stopped.
I leave you with this exhortation:
"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." (Galatians 5:16-17)
