Emotions and God's Word

Okay, quick, what is the shortest verse in the Bible in English?  It consists of two words.  Give up?  It's John 11:35. 

What's so amazing about that?  It's descriptive of an event that we don't see very often.  A man cries.  I think back to movies I've seen, such as "A League of Their Own", with Tom Hanks acting as the manager of a women's baseball team during WWII.  The one line that stands out from that movie is, "There's no crying in baseball." 

What does God's Word have to say about the role emotions play in our life and in our faith?  The reality is, it doesn't really address this particular question.  It talks a lot about people and their feelings and reactions, but if you are looking for some kind of systematic way of understanding emotions, the Bible doesn't really give that to us.

One thing that the Bible does make clear, though, is that there is a place for emotions, and for a rather wide range of them.  Jesus wept.  Jesus was moved deeply.  Jesus was angry.  And we see these same things in God, which shouldn't be a surprise, since Jesus and God are one and the same essence.  God is saddened by His people.  God is deeply moved, enough so to send His Son as our rescuer from His wrath at sin and the condemnation that our sinful life deserves.  God has anger, especially at sin, but also at such things as injustice and lack of compassion.

However, God also does not simply react when these emotional states strike.  They never overcome His faithfulness toward us, nor does He act rashly toward us because of a powerful emotion.  God still controls His thinking and His actions, even in the grip of powerful emotions.