Faith and Feelings

As the new year begins we are faced with a challenge. Start as we mean to go on or stay the same as we’ve always been? Don’t get me wrong, I know ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ don’t work but as we heard on Sunday, it’s decision time. Do we let our ‘feelings’ rule our lives or do we let faith take precedence in this new year? The choice is ours. The funny thing about feelings is that they are so real. You cannot deny that you’re feeling them when you’re feeling them. In fact feelings can be so real that they either motivate you or incapacitate you, they either move us or stop us in our tracks. Have you ever noticed that some days you feel that you can conquer the world and other days you can’t even conquer a sink full of dishes? The difference from one day to the next is extraordinary. But if we went by how we felt we would never get anything done. Granted some feelings we can override but other very strong feelings are more difficult to control but herein lies the challenge: the challenge to ignore those incapacitating feelings and still move forward. How do we do that I hear you say? Here are some pointers: 1. Acknowledge that these are just feelings and not a true reflection of where you are in the bigger picture. Acknowledge that this feeling you’re feeling could be here today and gone tomorrow as feelings are fickle and are not a true reflection of reality.

2. Realise that this is probably a plot of the devil to get you off course. He works through your thoughts and emotions to cause you to lose faith. He makes the thoughts and feelings so real that you feel justified to feel the way you do. This is where you must resist him with the Word which is the real truth about where you are and who you are.

3. Respond in faith. Faith is believing something you don’t see. But we have a sure foundation for our faith. We don’t just believe what we haven’t seen like pie in the sky. We believe the basis of God’s Word which is a strong foundation because what He says shall surely come to pass (Numbers 23:19).

4. Fight feelings with words. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness He never once debated with the devil about how he feels (Matthew 4:1-11). He quoted scripture. Don’t ever fight the devil with your thoughts alone, you’ll never win. Fight the devil with The Word and you’ll never lose.

5. Stand firm and resist negative feelings (James 4:7). Sometimes you are just going to have to dig your heels in and not be moved. Sometimes you will have to get determined that no matter what, you won’t let feelings move you. Refer back to the exercise we did at church on Sunday of walking with intent to a destination of choice. See where you want to go as a location of focus and let nothing stop you from getting there!

6. Finally, keep coming to church. Church is where you will be around like-minded people who are going through the same challenges as you and overcoming them through faith (1 Peter 5:9). The corporate faith of the congregation as well as the Word being preached will have an affect on you. You cannot live an isolated life as a Christian because we are a body (Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27). So make sure you get to church every Sunday without fail. We love you. Stay blessed, Oceans ❤️