How to Deal with How You Feel: Managing the Emotions That Make Life Unmanageable

by James Merritt

Overview

“Dr. Merritt brings the truth of God’s Word and the wisdom of experience to that part of our humanity that moves us—the emotions.”
—Karen Swallow Prior, author of On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books

In today’s climate of turmoil and uncertainty, threatening and incapacitating feelings run rampant. Yet the God who created your emotions has also given you everything you need to navigate them. The Bible paints relatable and resonant portraits of women and men struggling with grief, anger, guilt, and despair—and provides divine wisdom for transforming your emotional trials into spiritual triumphs.
 
When you study God’s Word carefully, you’ll discover it illuminates not just your faith, but also your feelings. In How to Deal with How You Feel, Dr. James Merritt will help you understand and apply the Bible’s often overlooked practical guidance for handling difficult emotions, including depression, jealousy, dissatisfaction, anxiety, rage, and loneliness.
 
How to Deal with How You Feel is a powerful roadmap to emotional health that will provide you with simple strategies and effective tools to process even your most chaotic emotions in a spiritually beneficial way. As you read, you’ll discover how a deep-rooted faith will empower you to experience the richness of contentment, joy, and peace that transcends understanding.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780736985345
Publisher:	Harvest House Publishers
Publication date:	08/02/2022
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	290,726
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

James Merritt (PhD) is a pastor, author, past president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and host of the Touching Lives television program, seen nationwide and in 122 countries. As a national voice on faith and leadership, Merritt has been interviewed by Time, Fox News, MSNBC, and 60 Minutes. He resides with his family outside Atlanta, Georgia.

Table of Contents

Introduction Emotion Commotion 5

Part 1 Life Takers

1 Stress | Soar like an Eagle 13

2 Worry | Put Worries Where They Belong 27

3 Anxiety | Escape the Jail Cell of Anxiety 37

4 Depression | Access the Bridge over Troubled Waters 47

5 Fear | Place Your Faith in the One and Only 59

6 Loneliness | Reach Up and Reach Out 67

7 Jealousy | Slay the Green-Eyed Monster 77

8 Anger | Be Mad…and Good 89

9 Bitterness | Push Away the Pull of Punishment 99

10 Guilt | Seek a Clean Slate 113

Part 2 Life Givers

11 Faith | I Believe 127

12 Joy | The Best Ride 135

13 Gratitude | Thank You Very Much 147

14 Contentment | Totally Satisfied 157

15 Hope | The Only True Source 167

Notes 175

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“As creatures made in the image of God, we are beings who think and feel, who exercise both reason and emotion. God’s Word and the doctrines we derive from it are able to address our entire humanity, yet the modern church sometimes treats the heart as though it is less important than the mind. In How to Deal with How You Feel, Dr. Merritt brings the truth of God’s Word and the wisdom of experience to that part of our humanity that moves us—the emotions.”

—Karen Swallow Prior,
Research Professor of English and Christianity & Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and author of On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books

Editorial Reviews

05/30/2022

This sensible if simplistic work by pastor Merritt (Character Still Counts), former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, offers Christian guidance on controlling one’s emotions. Drawing on scripture, the author “outlines God’s blueprint for how to deal with your emotions.” Merritt looks to the Bible for advice on coping with such “life takers” as anxiety, anger, and loneliness. For example, he recommends readers follow the stress management strategy exemplified by Isaiah as he awaited the fall of Jerusalem: “Look up at the unequaled God, listen to the unlimited God, and linger with the unfailing God.” Examining how to embody such positive emotions as joy, hope, and gratitude, he contends that “giving thanks is a big deal to God” and suggests that Christians might give thanks for their literacy, religious freedom, and the roofs over their heads. Some solutions can feel trite—such as the four-step plan for dealing with anxiety: celebrate, appreciate, pray to, and meditate on God—but the scriptural analysis offers some keen insights into how biblical figures used God’s grace to master their feelings, as when Merritt discusses Jesus’s teaching that “worry is an insult to God. It’s a slap in his face.” Christians will find some wisdom in this handy if lightweight volume. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

As creatures made in the image of God, we are beings who think and feel, who exercise both reason and emotion. God’s Word and the doctrines we derive from it are able to address our entire humanity, yet the modern church sometimes treats the heart as though it is less important than the mind. In How to Deal with How You Feel, Dr. Merritt brings the truth of God’s Word and the wisdom of experience to that part of our humanity that moves us—the emotions.”

—Karen Swallow Prior,
Research Professor of English and Christianity & Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and author of On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books

From the Publisher