Handle with Care

Emotions are at the wheel and our world is out of control. In just 35 years, I can't help but notice that we as a society are becoming increasingly emotionally driven. It's commonplace to hear things like, "If it feels good, do it." Nearly everything we do is driven by how we feel, directly opposite of discipline and self control. I've been convicted of it quite often and it's taken me this long to realize that being a Christian means I must put my feelings aside in order to experience the life He meant for me.

Here are my observations. Self esteem and faith are intertwined all for the sake of feelings because we all think we have to feel good about our self to the extent that we miss out on experiencing true joy. Marriages are falling apart because people decide they don't feel "in love" anymore. And parents are more permissive than ever, making their main goal to make their kids to "feel good" even if it means discarding all the right things to teach them. You see it in the news constantly - someone is out of control, making decisions that they won't be happy with later all because they followed their feelings.

I get hung up on my feelings as much as anyone, and I'm not pointing any fingers here. Nonetheless, we shouldn't let our feelings boss us around, and the proof is in the Word. Times when I have chosen  to be a slave to my feelings, my life has been a huge mess. I have found that you have to actively check your feelings against God's guidelines or you'll just be tossed around like a small boat in a hurricane.
 
Keeping my feelings in check provides for accountability. When someone hurts my feelings, it's up to me to get over it and to forgive. And even if they do apologize, I have to make a choice here to move on past how I feel. When an unhealthy thought crosses my mind, it's up to me to decide whether to continue pondering on it and if I don't my feelings will get too big for their britches and try to rule me again. When I feel emotional, it's up to me to maintain control of myself. I often have to remind myself, "Just because I can doesn't mean I should."

Feelings change but God never does. Feelings are fickle, and we never know what we'll get if we count on them to guide us. However, feelings do have a valuable role. Feelings often steer us from danger. They can serve as a compass when used properly, but never on their own. God's word has to be our check and balance point for thoughts and feelings alike in order to avoid misery.

We are called to be the salt and the light. Salt isn't easily manipulated - it changes everything it touches. With salt, you always know what you're getting and you can't miss it. Light can't be hidden no matter what, even if you bury it and it would still shine on something. If we're to be light and salt, we can only be those things from the faith we have in Him - not in ourselves and surely not in our feelings.
 
Some valuable resources I have found on feelings are:
Bible verses about our Feelings
Attitudes and Emotions
Please feel free to share any resources you have as well.

When You Don't Feel Like It

I think we often over think our faith. Lately, I'm hearing more and more people say things like, "God has given up on me", "I can't feel Him" or "I don't think He's listening to me". I think we've all had times where we encountered feelings similar to that. I think it's simply human nature to want to feel something, or sense something. But I wonder how many of us truly understand the very concept of faith.

Wikipedia says this about faith.

Faith is trust, hope and belief in the goodness, trustworthiness or reliability of a person, concept or entity. It can also refer to beliefs that are not based on proof. Religious faith appeals to transcendent reality, or that reality which is beyond the range of normal physical experience.

Some critics of faith have argued that faith is opposed to reason. In contrast, some advocates of faith argue that the proper domain of faith concerns questions which cannot be settled by evidence.

Dictionary.com defines faith like this.

"Confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability. Belief that is not based on proof"

Faith and human reasoning don't always mesh. Human nature  comes with the tendency that desires explanations, understanding and/or feelings. Faith is NOT a feeling. If you have faith, He allows us to dwell in His presence by dwelling in us. Sometimes you just have to believe even when you don't feel like it. And sometimes you have to focus intently on Him, tuning everything else out that doesn't align with His word in order to simply move forward.

There have been many times in my life (and there still are) times when I just don't feel like praying. There are also times when I don't feel like following His Word, or obeying what He's saying in my heart. There are many, many times when my emotions want to rule, or my mind wants to over think certain things to make me doubt my faith. But the times thatHhe's blessed me most are times when I do it anyway, putting my fleshly desires aside. The mere act of putting the flesh aside proves just how serious we really are about our faith.

The Christian life isn't one that just happens. Walking with God takes intent and focus, or at least it does for me. It's like I'm walking and talking with Christ in a wooded area. We're on this winding path, of which I would never be able to find my way through on my own. So if I start to look too hard at the beautiful scenery, I start tuning Him out. And it doesn't take long before I can't hear Him anymore, nor can I see Him because I got distracted.  I'm not saying that we have to tune others out. I'm saying that our primary focus in life should be to please Him. And in order to do that, we must pray, seek and listen...even when the the world tells us otherwise.

We were created in His image, although our own ways distort the greatness of His ways. Just like we each want to seek and be sought in our relationships--so does He. When I lose Him in the woods, it's my job to yell out to Him--if I'm serious about my relationship with Him. I need Him, and I must start calling for Him immediately to ask for forgiveness and His help to stay the course. I have to make the effort to connect with Him in order to move forward. Of course, He didn't abandon me, He's been nearby all along. He expects me to learn from the times where I feel lost without Him and to be driven by those times I've failed to stay focused on Him to do just that.

We humans aren't ones to accept things very well, or even remember them, if we don't have to work for it. If we don't have to put any effort into it, we quickly become stale and bored. If we don't have to seek it, we don't really want it. He wants us to love Him, although we can never love Him to the extent that he loves us. And He wants us to seek Him in order to show it, fulfilling our part of this relationship.

When you can't feel Him, seek Him. That's when you should seek Him most because you're right where Satan wants you if you don't. I encourage you to pray even when you don't feel like it. When you don't know what to say, simply thank Him for things he's done. He's only asking for our efforts, because it's been proven over and over that we won't be perfect in this life. But don't stop believing. Don't let your emotions rule you. If you do, you won't be happy with the results later.