Do you sometimes feel out of control with your emotions? Have you ever felt overwhelmed by fear, anger, or inordinate desire? Yeshua said “out of the heart come evil thoughts” (i.e., διαλογισμοὶ πονηροί, literally, evil “dialogs”) that result in bad feelings, wicked actions, and despair, and therefore we must understand the connection between how we think (and what we believe) and the emotional condition of our inner life. Have you ever heard the saying, “Hurt people hurt people?” The word for “evil” in Hebrew (i.e., ra’: רע) comes from a verb (רעע) that means to injure or harm others, though the word also connotes a despair of the heart that gives up and chooses to turn “hard” and difficult (קשה). Evil is also connected with cowardice, since the conscience (i.e., moral awareness) reveals judgment for sin, and therefore evil thinking leads to rationalizations, self-deception, and a running away from the truth about who we are…
The Scriptures say that a person without self-control (i.e., מעצר לרוּחוֹ, “rule over his spirit”) is like an ancient city without walls – vulnerable to attack and easily overcome by hostile forces (Prov. 25:28)… If you are impulsive or easily agitated, you are rendered defenseless before the enemy of your soul, and therefore it is essential to repair any breach within your heart and to become unified in your thinking and resolve. The Holy Spirit is called the “Comforter” (παράκλητος) because he imparts strength that fortifies the heart. Therefore the fruit of the Spirit (פרי הרוח) is “self-control” (ἐγκράτεια), a word that means “inner strength” (from εν-, “in” + κράτος, “power”) referring to mastery over one’s desires and passions.
A person without “inner limits” is easily overcome by evil. For example, a person who cannot control his anger cannot control what he says, and this reveals subjection to the lower nature. If a person says anything or everything that enters his mind, he is without boundaries, and there will be no door to close his lips… The same can be said of emotions that rise up with in the soul. Some strong emotions, of course, are appropriate to a some situations, but others are not, and without “taking every thought captive” by exercising self-control, we are liable to be brought into bondage to alien passions and obsessive thinking (2 Cor. 10:4). This is the source of addiction and self-destructive behavior in our lives. Being a “spirit without restraint” is to surrender yourself to dark forces that disregard the glory of your Creator.
Though it is good to ask questions about what we believe, to seek for understanding, and to study the Scriptures, we must do so using the principle that “faith seeks understanding,” rather than the converse principle that “understanding seeks faith,” since the latter elevates human reason to be the judge and arbiter of the things of God, a role for which it is both incapable and unsuited (Isa. 55:8-9; Job 9:10; 11:7; Psalm 139:6; Rom. 11:33). God is not a “what” but a “Who,” and that affects the means by which we know him (John 4:24). We certainly can know truth about God, though the instrumentality for attaining such knowledge transcends the abilities of unaided human reason (see Deut. 29:29).
In 
Our Torah reading for last week (i.e., 
Shalom chaverim. In this week’s Shavuah Tov audio podcast I provide a brief overview of 
The Scriptures are filled with desperate cries of the heart… “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?” (Psalm 13:1-2). “Make haste to help me, O LORD, my salvation!” (Psalm 38:22). “My soul melts away from sorrow; strengthen me according to your word” (Psalm 119:28). “Answer me quickly, O LORD! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit” (Psalm 143:7). God know that “hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Prov. 13:12), so there can be no turning to God, no teshuvah, apart from the presence of real hope (תִּקְוָה). Indeed, as the Apostle Paul wrote: “We are saved by hope” (Rom. 8:24).
Last week’s Torah portion (Bereshit) showed how the mutiny of Adam and Eve caused humanity to plunge into idolatrous chaos. The subsequent generations lost sight of the LORD and became progressively steeped in moral anarchy and bloodlust, so that “every intention of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). After just nine generations, the LORD had grown so weary of humanity that he “regretted” (i.e., yinchem: יִּנָּחֶם) creating man and “his heart was grieved” (Gen. 6:6). However, God recognized Noach (from the godly line of Seth) as a tzaddik (צַדִּיק), a righteous man of faith, and graciously made provision to save him from the wrath to come….
“Then the LORD God formed the man from dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). We tend to think of dust in self-effacing terms; for example, repenting in “dust and ashes” expresses unworthiness and sinfulness. Yet the dust God used to form Adam was not worthless, but instead represented very fine particles of creation, a substance suspended midway between heaven and earth, almost a “spiritual matter.” This is suggested by the fact that God first intended man to be his image bearer and only then used dust as the material for that higher end. The sages note that regarding the creation of animals, God said, “Let the earth (eretz) bring forth according to their kinds” (Gen. 1:24), but regarding man he said, “Let us make him be’tzelmeinu – in our image (as a photograph), after our likeness” (Gen. 1:26). Therefore God brought forth the lower animals in groups, but he created Adam as the only one of its kind, the son of God and prince of God’s creation. God breathed into Adam nishmat chayim (נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים), “a living soul” (the word neshamah [נשָׁמָה] is used to describe life breathed into humans, not to animals). The LORD breathed “out of himself” to share his own spirit with mankind… Therefore your soul does not come from nature, but from God; your inner essence originates directly from the LORD. Yeshua breathes out and says to you, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22).