We all have emotional needs. Those who lead in ministry spend much of their time tending to the emotional needs of others and expend a tremendous amount of emotional energy. We can assume that we do not have needs, ignore those needs or even believe God will magically meet those needs, but none of these approaches are effective or healthy.
We all have a variety of ways we meet our emotional needs from the small to the significant. Maybe we have a need to be needed from those we lead and we have our emotional needs met by helping others (this is quite common in ministry settings. Maybe we meet our emotional needs through food, shopping or gambling. Maybe we have our emotional needs met through unhealthy relationships or pursuing affairs. Sometimes we meet our emotional needs through exercise our through healthy family relationships or friendships. Regardless of what way you meet these needs, you do seek to meet them whether you realize it or not. The question is whether or not you meet them in a healthy way.