“Feelings”

(Read: Genesis 22:8 & 2 Corinthians 5:7)

God has really been dealing with me about what I feel lately, let me try to explain. Do you ever have those times in life when you just feel “blah”? You can’t exactly pin-point it but something feels off. You try to press in and pray and study the Bible but still all your efforts feel in vain. Well, I have had this happen to me and I don’t believe I am alone in this. 

When I read about the faith that Abraham had to trust God (Gen.22: 8) and how Paul tells us that we are to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7) I began to really ask myself, “What are you walking by?” The response I get from God is that during these times when I “feel” this way I am allowing my ever-changing feelings to dictate my attitude. I have allowed my feelings to override what I know to be true based on the promises in God’s Word. By allowing my feelings to lead me; my attitude and outlook on things are seen through tainted eyes or have a skewed perspective. 

God’s Word is the only unchanging thing in this world which is why it should set the bar for every aspect of our lives. When we start feeling condemned of our past mistakes we can rest assured that Romans 8:1 is the truth we need to stand firm on. This is how we walk by faith and not by sight. God showed me that this portion of scripture not only includes sight but feelings as well. If you look up the word “feelings” you can see it is defined as a "level of perception". When you perceive something you see it. So in the breakdown of it, the word “feelings” does fall into the category of sight. So we are to walk by faith and not by sight (or feelings).  

I noticed in talking with many people that we all deal with this. Take the time to listen when others are talking to you. Many of the statements out of our mouths start with, “I feel…”  It may be something like “I feel God is not there” or “I feel that nobody loves me” and “I feel like I can’t count on anyone.” These are “feelings” that if you trust in God and His word just cannot be true. Once we catch this and stop leaning on our feelings and start relying on Faith there is no limit to what God can do in our lives. Our feelings can change on a minute by minute basis so we can’t depend on them, ever. This is why God has given us His Word. It's purpose is meant to guide us as we walk through this journey called life. 

Take Care,

-E