Spiritually ‘Stuck’? How Your Emotions Can Restrict Your Heart—and How to Break Free

Did you know that if your heart is in neutral, nothing godly will be flowing out!?

Many times, we feel restricted inside almost as if we are tied up or bound up, but from the inside out. Have you ever felt this way?

Most believers would immediately think that their thoughts cause the restriction, which is not wrong; but many times it is also our emotions that are restricting us.

In the New King James version, the word mind is used (Colossians 3:2), but in the King James translation, the word affection is used, “Set your affection on things above.” Both translations make it clear that this verse is referring to the soul. We are to set our soul—our mind and our emotions—on things above.

Second Corinthians 6:11-12 says, “O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.”

Wow! Have you ever seen that before? I mean, have you really seen it?

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul said that it is possible to be restricted by our own affections! It is very important that we realize this.

Our Emotions Can Restrict Us!

I’m sure if you think about it, you can remember how your emotions are affected negatively when you feel stressed. When our emotions are restricting us, the worst thing we can do is pretend it’s not happening or that it doesn’t matter—because it does matter!

The number-one fear is public speaking. Imagine that your boss calls you right now and says that you have to give a speech in one hour. That feeling in the pit of your stomach is what I’m talking about. Or, when you are completely stressed out and someone needs something from you emotionally, but you just don’t feel like you have anything left to give. That feeling is what I’m talking about.

How many times have we passed up divine appointments and supernatural opportunities because our affections, our emotions, were causing restrictions within our soul?

God never designed our emotions to control us; instead, they were given to help express His life from within us. This may put a new wrinkle in your brow, but if you have never thought of this, I want to challenge you to think about it! God wants our emotions to be Spirit-filled just like our thought life and our will and every part of our being. Transformation hap-pens in every area that we will allow it.

Emotional health is a big deal, and Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted!

God has provided healing for mental disorders and emotional illness just like physical illness. Thank God for that, but why allow your emotions to become so problematic that you end up in a state of illness? God has given us the tools to deal with these things and wants us to be proactive every day as a lifestyle. It is so much easier to deal with an issue when it’s small. Don’t give it room to grow and develop into something that tries to take control.

We need to pay attention to our attractions and our distractions! Emotions follow thoughts, so what are we seeking? Are we seeking those things that are above?

In 2 Corinthians 6, we see a heart that is being restricted and a heart that is wide open! What is the difference?

Notice that the apostle Paul is not speaking from a heart that is shut down or in neutral. He said his heart is wide open! This is how God wants everyone of us to be living in our day to day.

So if you’re feeling restricted, you must ask yourself, What’s going on?

Scripture clearly spells it out for us: you are being restricted by your own affections, or by your emotions, and of course we know that emotions follow our thoughts. It all works together within our soul, and all of it affects the heart and the issues of life.

Remember, the issues of life, all the issues of life, flow out from the heart. Out of your heart your mouth makes declarations every day. What are you saying? If you want to know what is in your heart in abundance, listen to what your mouth is declaring.

Your Soul Wants to Be in Control

Remember, before you were born again your heart was united, but it was united toward whatever you wanted. You just did whatever you wanted to do and whatever seemed right in your own eyes. I was the same way! My spirit was dead, and my soul was in charge. We often heard, “If it feels good do it,” so you know what? We did!

God made a better covenant with better promises available through Christ and He has given us all a much better way to live life!

It’s important as students of the Word or as disciples, that we keep the Word in context. As you’ve probably heard, “Anything out of context just leaves you with a con.”

As you study the word heart, what you find is that sometimes scripture is referring to your spirit and sometimes it is referring to your physical heart; but as I have already stated, the spiritual heart is made up of the spirit and the soul working together. The heart is our whole inner self integrated by Spirit and Truth!

The Word of God uses the word heart as kardia in the Greek, and the word for spirit is the Greek word pneuma, clearly showing they are two separate things.

The soul (psuché) is the more visible part of your inner man, yet the spirit of man is described in 1 Peter 3:4 (KJV) as “the hidden man of the heart” (kardia).

This is where we should be living life from! From the hidden man of the heart. But I have news for you: the soul still wants to be in control. It was used to being in control before Christ and it still wants to be in control after Christ.

But God never intended our soul to lead! Our soul was not intended to have dominion! God designed the soul to be submitted to the Spirit of God within our spirit. Our spirit should be ruling and reigning over our soul. We were designed by God to take dominion from our reborn spirit, not from the soul.

Jesus never came to establish a political kingdom. He came to establish the kingdom of God! This is the kingdom that we are now part of. The soul on its own is still all about trying to establish the kingdoms of this world. Jesus isn’t building that; He is building us!

If you are born again, God wants your soul to come into submission to your born-again spirit. Your spirit is where the life of God is and everything you do should begin here and then flow through your soul and out from your life.

The Heart and the Mouth Are Linked!

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says” (Mark 11:22-23).

We should be speaking to our mountains, our obstacles, and those things that we can’t seem to see past or get over. We should be speaking to sickness and disease and telling demons where to go. We need to be speaking life and blessings over ourselves and other people, and seeking transformation and awakening.

So many believers are speaking to God about their mountain instead of speaking to their mountain about God! Is it time to tell your mountain where to go!?

Someone well-meaning asked me one day, “How many times to I have to speak to my situation…my mountain?”

I responded, “As many times as the thought comes to your mind.”

Every time—without fail—every time a thought comes that is not from God, speak to it and tell it what to do. Replace it with the truth!