Overcoming Emotional OverwhelmSample

Discern the Truth, Not Just the Feeling

“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (Hebrews 4:12 NLT)

Yesterday we talked about acknowledging our emotions with compassion—naming the feeling without judgment and letting God meet us in that space.

If the acknowledge step is the warm hug and the comforting blanket, this next step is the flashlight.

It’s where we gently hold up what we’re feeling and ask, “Okay… but what’s really true here?”

Because as valid as our emotions are, they don’t always tell the full story.

Sometimes we carry hidden messages inside our feelings—half-truths like “You’re being ignored,” or “You’ll never change,” or “God must be disappointed in you.”

These stories may be rooted in past trauma... or in patterns we’ve unknowingly been rehearsing for years. And if we’re not careful, we can believe the lie simply because it sounds familiar.

That’s why this second part of the A.D.D. Method (discern) matters so much. It’s the moment we pause and say: “Hold up. Let me take this to God’s truth filter.”

Scripture reminds us that God’s Word is alive, active, and able to expose what’s really happening inside us. And the Holy Spirit is always ready to lead us toward God's truth.

Once we’ve acknowledged the feeling, the discern step is about sorting through the emotional swirl to identify what’s true and what’s not.

Discern is how we distinguish God’s gentle voice of conviction from the enemy’s voice of condemnation. It’s how we quiet shame and tune our ears to hope.

Praise God that we don’t have to follow every emotional impulse or worst-case scenario down the rabbit trail! Even in seasons of emotional overwhelm, we can pause, reflect, and realign our feelings with His truth.

Reflection Questions:

1. Consider an emotion you’re experiencing right now. What lies might be tangled up inside of it?

2. How does knowing that God’s voice brings peace (not shame) help you feel more confident in processing emotions?

Today’s Emotional Management Tool: Truth Filtering

Take a few minutes today to complete these two powerful reflection prompts—either out loud or in your journal:

• “It’s true that...”
• “It’s not true that...”

Example:

• “It’s true that I feel anxious about that conversation.”
• "It’s not true that I always mess things up.”

Let God’s truth be your anchor, not your emotions alone. When you name what’s true and what’s not, you disarm the lies and create space for peace.