Fact or Feelings


There are times in my life when I think I can do anything; times when I feel like I can achieve great things and nothing will stop me. Maybe I’ll train for and complete a triathlon or climb Mt. Everest or maybe join the PGA. Maybe I’ll even motivate 3,000 people to come to worship.
Then there are times when everything seems out of my reach and just completing the tasks of everyday life feels daunting and overwhelming. The fact is that when I base my life on my own feelings and thoughts about things, life continues to be an up and down experience. This is nothing new; I think this is just a part of our human nature and to some degree everyone can relate. So, while we have our feelings about things, there is also something called the truth.
The truth is that when we set our eyes on our Lord Jesus and set our hearts toward God’s divine nature, instead of our human nature, our lives take on a whole new dimension. Instead of our existence being about how we feel, we become all about who God is and who we are as his dearly loved children. (Identity) God’s Word tells us and shows us that He has great things in store for his people; things we probably couldn’t even imagine. Our job is to surrender to His plan, trust Him and then expect great things. That’s not to say that we just sit back with our feet up and wait for God to do something. No, while we trust, we continue to strive and work and run the race God has placed in front of us. We just don’t let our feelings get in the way.

 

Although it’s hard to find where it was first published, Martin Luther is credited with writing the following poem about those human feelings:
Feelings come and feelings go, And feelings are deceiving
My warrant is the Word of God, Nothing else is worth believing.
Though all my heart should feel condemned, For want of some sweet token,
There is One greater than my heart, Whose Word cannot be broken.
I’ll trust in God’s unchanging Word, ‘Til soul and body sever,
For, though all things shall pass away, His Word shall last forever.

So although feelings and emotions are some of the wonderful/ horrible, motivating/ frustrating parts of being human, when we BELIEVE in God’s love for us, when we BELIEVE in the salvation we find in Jesus Christ and we BELIEVE in the communion we have through the Holy Spirit, that’s when we really start living.

As we enter the season of Thanksgiving, let’s thank God for calling us into a relationship with Him and encourage one another to

“run with endurance the race set our before us, looking on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12).

Living for Jesus,

Pastor Scott

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