Living By Feelings or God’s Truth
Are you bothered when people put down God’s truth and amplify their feelings? I sure do. Often I hear, “I feel saved”, I feel healed and “I feel forgiven” as well as “I feel blessed”. These feelings posed great hindrances to upholding our faith in God and trusting in God’s truth. Feeling is physical and fleshy. It could be emotional and just to satisfy the body. These feelings may sometimes run contrary to God’s truth. There’s nothing wrong with our feelings; there are God’s gifts to us. Sometimes they reflect the truth; often they don’t. They can serve as an early warning system, such as when fears alert us of danger; could sensitize our passion to our love ones, when we feel overwhelming sense of love. Surprisingly our feelings do not define or determine the truth; only God’s truth [His Word] defines the truth. For example, we may feel worthless but the truth is that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and unconditionally loved by God. We could feel and think poor, but God has blessed us with all heavenly riches. We could continue to feel we are all sinful, but God’s truth says while we were in sin Christ died for us; we are saved by grace [Saints of God].
We are saved when God’s truth declared us saved, not by feelings. The scripture says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away; behold all things become new” [2 Corinthians 5:17]. “If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are saved”. It does not say if you are in Christ you feel like a new creature. You may not feel like a new creature, but God’s truth says you are. It does not say old things may pass away, but old things are passed away and behold, all things are become new. Not some things become new. You may not feel new, but God’s truth says you are brand new in Jesus Christ, not minding your age. Whoever shall call on the name of God, shall be saved [Acts 2:21]. The action is complete; you have been made a brand new person and have been completely recreated. “If thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in thy heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved”. You may confess with your mouth but if you do not believe in your heart then the process is incomplete. When you believe that God raised Jesus from death, you will not have difficulty saying it with your mouth.
When God formed mankind, he saw his creation as very good. However, Satan deceived man to sin against God thereby becoming deformed. But God in Christ Jesus transformed man for His glory and good pleasure, to continue communion and fellowship with Godhead. In the process of transformation mankind is reborn into a new creation. When scriptures say, “God forgives all my sins; heals all manner of diseases” [Psalms 103:3]. It does not say forgives some sins or heals some or certain aspect or symptoms, but all. Christians become so sin conscious with ‘all have sinned and come short of the glory of God but forget, ‘while we were yet sinner Christ died for us”. Not because of what we have done or failed to do, but because of what God in Jesus Christ did on the cross of Calvary. Again the gospel says, “Whom the son of man has set free, is free indeed and there is no more condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus”.[John 8:36; Rom8:1]. The enemy is quick to remind us that we are sinners, but we should tell the defeated foe that we have been saved by grace, not by laws or our own righteousness but by God’s unmerited favor and in his righteousness.
Whatever you ask God and believe in your heart that it is done, so be it. When we pray for God’s healing, we should accept it as done. When you became a child of God, you have become a member of God’s family. You enjoy certain rights and privileges: being forgiven, being saved, being healed and prospered. The scripture says blessed is a man whose sins are forgiven. We do not enjoy these blessings because we do not believe in them. We enjoy Satan’s lies and even when God has forgiven us we fail to accept his forgiveness and have not forgiven ourselves; we still feel guilty and sinful. We may not feel forgiven but God’s truth says it’s done; praise the Lord!
I’ve noticed that many Christian folks do not take our affirmations and confessions seriously. When a brethren says, “You are blessed” it often sound so common that we see it as a casual greeting. It appears so ordinary that we have lost the efficacy of it, perhaps just because we do not feel it immediately. God’s word does not depend on our feelings. We must not feel to make it work. Rather as we claim it – we are blessed say it repetitively to ourselves, it becomes manifest. God’s word is yes and amen. Martin Luther once said that “the word is higher than heaven and earth yea greater than death and hell…endures everlasting.” The word was with God and was made flesh; when we accept it in us, it begins to manifest in our flesh and becomes part of us. If we believe in the word, it shall be established. [Isaiah. 7:9b]. God also lifted His word higher than everything, including His name [Psalms 138: 2b]. God is in His word and He’s the truth.
We need to stand on the word of God not on our feelings for the word is Spirit and life. As born again Christians, we are children of God and have inheritance from the father in Christ Jesus. We are righteous; our righteousness is not our own but depends on what Jesus did on the cross. The blood of Jesus washed away all our sins and we have been recreated in him, clean and pure as well as equipped for good works. God no longer impute our past sin on us because the blood of his Son had taken them away once and for all. Jesus came so that we may have life and have it in fullness [John 10:10]. When we accept Jesus as the Lord of our life, we begin the new life in its fullness. We stop listening to the lies and accusations of Satan or the words of men’s wisdom. We begin to read, listen, and learn, believe and act on the word of God. When you discover who you are in Christ Jesus – your position, rights, and privileges etc, your attitude and entire existence would change and life becomes more purposeful and enjoyable. Pray that God opens the eyes of your inner mind to perceive what God’s truth is concerning you. It shall marvel you, the untapped resources at your disposal. We must live by faith and not by feelings.
Pastor Jon Walker says, “Your feeling is from God; they are gifts and no need trying to avoid them or be ashamed of them. However God never meant for our feelings to measure our lives and determine how we live it. Your feelings do not define you; they are not designed to interpret the situations you face. Only God’ truth can define you, and only God’s truth can pass judgment on the situations of your life.” God may use your feelings to draw you closer to Him. As C. S. Lewis says in “Mere Christianity”, if you don’t love someone, behave as if you do and your feelings will catch up. The great and best Good News is this: God’s truth is a person – Jesus Christ, the Lord. Therefore seek and hold onto God’s truth; He will guide your feelings and emotions towards fruitful uses and adventures.