Feelings are fickle! Do you agree?
I have found myself on both sides of the 'feelings' thing, and I am learning not to trust either extreme.
If I am 'up' and have a burst of feeling God's presence, it's wonderful, but before the 'rooster crows 3 times'... I can be 'down' and everything looks discouraging.
I am struck by what His Word does NOT say about feelings!
It is all about faith, and not once do I find that our faith guarantees that we will always FEEL on top of things.
So what do we do when our feelings are the opposite of our faith?
WE STAND...
We stand, based on His Word, which tells us that we are to trust Him. Not trust Him and then we will FEEL good. We do have those times too, but I know that very often in my life, those feelings are not there.
Is God any less alive in me during those times? NO!
That is one of satan's lies, designed to pull us down because we aren't feeling victorious!
Would I rather FEEL His presence all the time? Yes, I would!
But He is no less God because of the way I feel...
What He says to me is...
"Be still and KNOW that I am God!"...
I am learning to boot satan right out the door, and sometimes I say it out loud... get OUT of here! (or worse...)
My standing as God's child is certain!
NOTHING else in this world is certain, we are seeing evidence of so much chaos all over the world, not to mention personal chaos in so many lives.
GOD IS ALIVE AND WELL... He is the same yesterday, today and forever!
My feelings come and go.... He never changes!
21 comments:
Thanks sister.
Needed that.
God bless you.
This is EXACTLY what I needed to hear this evening!!! I love this, and I really love the reminder that He doesn't speak of our feelings. He speaks of our faith.
I agree completely. When I was a new believer and I was told about never trusting your feelings but standing on the promises of God's Word was one of the best pieces of advice I ever received. Now in the age of Psycho babble it is more important than ever to know God's Word and He doesn't care to much about our feelings, only if we Obeyed.
Thanks, I might do a post about this too.
Sonja - Today has been just that sort of day. I was totally uplifted by the message in church this morning. And then, I found out that my son has really been struggling with terrible anxiety this week. (Why do boys keep everything to themselves?)
My spirit felt dashed - up and down, every day - it's tiring.
But yes, as you have said, we must STAND on the Word of God, and on His unchanging character.
Not sit and stand, sit and stand - but STAND!!
Thanks for this very timely word.
GOD BLESS!
Just what I needed today! Your advise to stand on God's Word and not on our feelings is a powerful piece of advice. When they got my washer, the flood dried up in the den and the pipes fixed and the wall replaced in my laundry room, I was on a high. But those highs don't last long until something else happens and we're down again. But knowing that God is the same yesterday, today and forever is so calming because we know that we can depend on Him to take us through whatever.
As always Sonja, you touch the spot with your words. Blessings.
God has been tapping me on the shoulder a lot lately reminding me it has nothing to do with how I feel!! I can't base anything on feelings, they can change in a minute, but base on His word!
And our pastor use to say, "To Hell with the Devil"...remind him of his destiny since we know what ours is!
Good post for me this Monday morning while I am feeling a little hormonal! Now to go boot him out the door.
Dear Sonja,
I just shared something like this with my dear niece. When we base our "position in life" on our feelings alone, it's like we're an airplane pilot, in a complete fog, not looking to our instrument panel to determine our proper alignment with the horizon.
We can feel a sense of worthlessness, hopelessness, because the enemy has surroudned us with a FOG of LIES! We lose our way, our feelings are of worthlessness and despair. We begin to tail-spin. We HAVE to look to our panel--God's Word to determine our placement on the horizon. . .to find our worth in Him. To have His Holy Spirit breathe away the fog and give us a clear direction.
On the other hand, we could also be like JFK Jr. in 1999, when he felt like he was flying his plane straight, in line with the horizon. He never looked at the plane's instrument panel. He never realized or "felt" that the plane was in a nose-dive. The plane fell short of reaching their destination and crashed.
Mankind too, must look to God's Word. We may feel as if we're okay. But where do we measure up? We all fall short of God's glory. (Romans 3:23) We must place our trust in Christ's gift of salvation through His death on the cross, bearing our sins to Calvary, and rising again. . .and when we do that, we're on our way to our eternal destination--heaven with Him.
Stay focused on God's Word. Don't base our "position in life" on our feelings. This is dangerous. "The heart is deceitful ... who can know it?"
Thanks for reaffirming what He's been telling me this morning. :)
Hugs!
tammi
Standing firm and shouting loudly.
God is who he IS!
Amen.
peace~elaine
LOVE this!! AMEN to it all....Praise God He is no less just because of the way I feel. Have a wonderful day. HUGS
Oh I'm so glad that you commented today in my corner... I had "lost" you. There was a remedy...become a follower.
This was a wonderful post. Like most, I experience the ups and downs, but it doesn't change the fact that He changes not.
Portland? Really? How interesting.
Beautiful post Sonja, and so very true. Those mountaintop experiences are so wonderful and sometimes they are all that keep us going, but just as in the Transfiguration, Jesus brings us back down from the mountain. He asks for our faith and it is in those dark moments that faith is the light that shines through.
Andie
aren't feelings interesting? God designed them, and we
sure love them when we feel good. when they feel bad,
i press into Him, as you do. if we didn't feel pain, we
would be in great danger. i read that the reason lepers
lose their extremities is because they don't feel it when
they knock into things and then do it over and over.
i'm going to enjoy your hill country next week. :)
I'm with you. I know we can't always be little miss sunshine. But the minute I start feeling down, when I feel those fiery darts of the enemy springing on me, I start declaring God's promises, and remind myself how blessed I am...to be safe, healed, never hungry, never for lack of clothing, etc. And I find myself back on the happy road once again. I can't let myself feel down for too long, or I would find myself drowning...
Sonja, good post! I sometimes like to think of feelings as "visitors" in my life. They come and go, and some are positive, and some are a real pain. But they are not permanent residents.
But God is family, our Heavenly Father, and he tells us that our faith will not go unrewarded. And He is with us unwaveringly. blessing to you - Marsha
A great and beautiful reminder, Sonja!!!
Faith and feelings... the delicate dance of our hearts in all seasons. Even so, keep me standing strong, Lord!
peace~elaine
Blessings to you once again Sonja.
Sonja, you are soooo right. Feelings are up and down and come and go. Just the other day I was feeling really good about a certain thing and then my wife quickly brought me back down to earth :-(
Oh how I love your gray hair!
I am most grateful that He never changes. if he changed as much as we did...we'd be lost. He's the rock for a reason. He's my mountain. I'm a bit directional dysfunctional - but as long as I could see the mountains (in my beloved Colorado)I always knew what direction I was going.
With Him... he's my mountain, my rock. Some times - I have to stand - as you say - and focus on Him and His ways before I can go any farther - but He always gets me going in the right direction - because he never changes - we do.
He's like the North Star in my sky. In fact, It's such a beautiful night tonight here in AR. that my kitchen door is still open at 11pm. I feel led to go outside right now; look up into the darkness of the night sky until I see His North Star ...and pray a blessing over my dear Sonja. So here I go....May you feel His Presence extra sweet - not because I prayed - but because he told me to.
Blessings sent your way...from my heart to yours through the heart that unites us all.
Patrina <")>><
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