The Spiritual Case for Feeling Everything
Benjamin Espinoza
4 min read ⭑
As the father of young children, I have become a connoisseur of Pixar movies.
Among my absolute favorites are the “Inside Out” films. In these charming and insightful films, we meet the personified emotions of a young girl named Riley, whose life we follow from the painful adjustments of moving cross-country to the turbulent teenage years. Riley’s “lead” emotion, Joy, is portrayed as bubbly, energetic, and initially unable to engage fruitfully with her fellow emotion, Sadness. Throughout the first film, Joy and Sadness are forced to work together, and they discover that Riley’s memories will often contain both joy and sorrow.
In the second film, we meet Anxiety, who charges a group of underlings to design possible negative futures for Riley as she tries to fall asleep. Toward the end of the film, Anxiety takes over for Joy and leads Riley into a panic attack. Joy stops Anxiety from advancing this downward spiral by pulling her out, allowing Riley to remember who she is and how much she matters to others. From there, Joy, Anxiety, and all the other emotions learn to coexist, recognizing the unique and necessary contributions each one brings to the table.
Annie Spratt; Unsplash
The emotional journey of “Inside Out” creates a compelling narrative that touches on something Christians often wrestle with. Many believers feel pressure to always be joyful, assuming that because we are God’s children, we should be happy all the time. As a result, feeling emotions like sadness, fear or anger can seem like a spiritual failure rather than simply part of being fully human.
But the “Inside Out” films reflect biblical truth, gently reminding us that our emotions are a gift from God. These emotions allow us to experience the exuberant joy that comes with the beginning of a new relationship or friendship, the birth of a child, the call offering you your dream job, and a host of other wonderful experiences. But they also alert us when things are wrong, help us prepare for upcoming challenges, and assist us in processing pain and loss.
Instead of denying or dismissing our emotions, we are invited to integrate them — to listen to what they’re telling us and let them deepen our connection to God, ourselves and others. In doing so, we can care for ourselves more effectively and enjoy healthier relationships with God and others.
This might surprise you, but did you know that God has feelings? This isn’t to say that God has mood swings or emotional outbursts. Instead, God is “emotional” in the best possible way: He feels deeply and perfectly.
In Genesis 6:6, we read that “the Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled” after seeing the havoc that humans wreaked on the creation. In Jeremiah 31:3, God says to his people, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” Psalm 5:5 talks about the Lord hating all evildoers. The Scriptures describe God’s emotional life in many more than these few examples, and other authors have gone into greater detail than I will here.
“Emotions play a vital role in our lives, serving as both indicators of our spiritual health and pathways through which we experience God’s presence and love.”
The Gospels are clear that Jesus experienced emotions. He wept over the death of his friend Lazarus (John 11:35). He had compassion on the multitudes who had been with him and his disciples for three days with no food to eat (Matthew 15:32). He grew frustrated by people’s lack of faith (Luke 9:41). He was “overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Mark 14:34). He experienced deep anguish, as evidenced by the drops of sweat dropping from his brow (Luke 22:44). As I look at the vivid emotional life of Jesus, I see that he experienced the full range of human emotion. If I am feeling something, chances are, Jesus felt it too.
Emotions are a part of our lives, whether we like it or not. I have sometimes cried out to God to take away my anger, regret or deep emotional pain. I have sometimes been so sad that I find myself spiraling into feelings of worthlessness and sheer malaise. Psychologists use a fancy term to describe a lack of interest in pleasure: anhedonia. I’ve definitely felt that, and you probably have as well. Emotions can also trigger chemical processes in our brains that release endorphins, making us feel jubilant, carefree and optimistic. The full range of human emotion is a beautiful thing, even if the painful parts can be unbearable and even if the joy can lead to sadness right after.
The problems come when our emotions begin to control us and lead us to act in ways unbecoming of our high calling as Christian people. When our emotions guide us, we often end up making poor decisions, treating others brusquely or distantly, or taking actions we will later regret. I have certainly allowed my emotional life to overtake the rational side of me, and I have seen others do the same.
But emotionality that partners with our rational side can help us move forward in the Christian life. Paired with knowledge about the plight of impoverished folks in our communities, for example, our emotions about their situation can compel us to take action to help ease people’s economic suffering. I have seen my parishioners moved to help marginalized community members after being exposed to the desperation of their situation. These parishioners cognitively understood the problems these folks were facing, but their hearts were further pricked to action once they met them and shared more directly in their troubles.
Emotions play a vital role in our lives, serving as both indicators of our spiritual health and pathways through which we experience God’s presence and love. Far from being obstacles to faith, our emotional lives are integral to how we relate to God, others and ourselves — they reflect the image of God within us, who himself expresses joy, compassion, righteous anger and deep love.
Benjamin Espinoza serves as Lead Pastor of Riverstone Church, a Wesleyan congregation in Rochester, New York. Prior to his current role, Ben served in several executive-level positions at Roberts Wesleyan University, including as Vice President of Northeastern Seminary. Ben serves on the boards of the Wesleyan Holiness Connection, Aldersgate School of Ministry and Teaching Like Jesus Ministries. He has taught at Fuller Theological Seminary, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Roberts Wesleyan University and Great Lakes Christian College.
Taken from Good News About Self Care by Benjamin Espinoza. Copyright © 2026. Used by permission of NavPress.
