Thursday, April 15, 2010

More on Feelings

Posted by Tracy Wainwright at 10:01 AM
While we can't trust our feelings, we can acknowledge them and have an impact on them. Another scripture we talked about this week in Bible study is: Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." One we didn't discuss, but I believe is as important is: Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Feelings are not bad. Often, feelings such as love, joy, peace, comfort are a gift from God. Any feeling that is in line with His Spirit is a gift. It's the feelings that don't line up with God's Word and Spirit that are untrustworthy: laziness, discontent, unrighteous anger, jealousy, immediate pleasure from sin, etc.

The devil knows that he can influence us by our feelings. Why do you think he has such a stronghold on so many people through depression and doing what "feels good?" Because he knows both of these lead to destruction and away from God. He can't steal us from God, but he can make us powerless for God.

But God provides the answer. He tells us to guard our hearts. To do this, we need to check our feelings against what we know He would have us do. We need to know what His Word says about the actions that those feelings would lead us to do. We need to ask Him to strengthen us against sinful feelings and sinful actions (or, sometimes lack of actions) that come from benign feelings.

Philippians 4:7 talks about the peace of God guarding our hearts. However, this is not automatic. Just as we as parents want our children to come to us, God wants us to come to Him. Philippians 4:6 says: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." God wants us to bring EVERYTHING to Him.

What I am learning, step by step, is to give up my self will for His will. Every time, things turn out better for me when I give up my right to myself and follow Him. You'd think I'd learn to do it all the time, but my old nature keeps trying to crop up and lead me. My prayer is that I will grow closer and closer to God, walking with Him in everything I do. Then, my life will be abundantly more than I could hope, think, or ask - even more so than it already is.

0 comments on "More on Feelings"

Thursday, April 15, 2010

More on Feelings

While we can't trust our feelings, we can acknowledge them and have an impact on them. Another scripture we talked about this week in Bible study is: Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." One we didn't discuss, but I believe is as important is: Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Feelings are not bad. Often, feelings such as love, joy, peace, comfort are a gift from God. Any feeling that is in line with His Spirit is a gift. It's the feelings that don't line up with God's Word and Spirit that are untrustworthy: laziness, discontent, unrighteous anger, jealousy, immediate pleasure from sin, etc.

The devil knows that he can influence us by our feelings. Why do you think he has such a stronghold on so many people through depression and doing what "feels good?" Because he knows both of these lead to destruction and away from God. He can't steal us from God, but he can make us powerless for God.

But God provides the answer. He tells us to guard our hearts. To do this, we need to check our feelings against what we know He would have us do. We need to know what His Word says about the actions that those feelings would lead us to do. We need to ask Him to strengthen us against sinful feelings and sinful actions (or, sometimes lack of actions) that come from benign feelings.

Philippians 4:7 talks about the peace of God guarding our hearts. However, this is not automatic. Just as we as parents want our children to come to us, God wants us to come to Him. Philippians 4:6 says: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." God wants us to bring EVERYTHING to Him.

What I am learning, step by step, is to give up my self will for His will. Every time, things turn out better for me when I give up my right to myself and follow Him. You'd think I'd learn to do it all the time, but my old nature keeps trying to crop up and lead me. My prayer is that I will grow closer and closer to God, walking with Him in everything I do. Then, my life will be abundantly more than I could hope, think, or ask - even more so than it already is.

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