More than a feelin’

One of the most effective strategies Satan uses against the believer is to convince you that your feelings are an accurate representation of the truth. Only God’s Word is true and everything we experience or think or do must be compared to the truth of His Word. Yet, Satan wants to keep you entrapped in the natural realm. Why? Because if you walk in the spirit, the defeat he knows has already happened will become a reality in your life! If don’t “feel” God, you won’t connect with Him in worship. If you don’t “sense” God, you won’t move ahead. If you don’t “see” God in something, you’ll convince yourself He’s not there. If you don’t “hear” from God, you’ll stay trapped in the same stale situations and ruts. If you don’t “taste and see” that the Lord is good because all hell has broken loose in your family or health or career or ministry or plans, you question His goodness or succumb to notions of His “sovereignty” – mistakenly thinking He causes bad things to teach you good lessons. Yikes! Yes, you must discern in the Spirit, but you must also know the Word because it is the primary way God has made for you to sense, hear, see, taste and feel!

Faith is more than a feeling. More accurately, faith is the exact opposite of feeling. Faith is in direct contradiction to what you will experience on any level in the natural realm. Faith is a spiritual experience and the natural mind cannot make sense of it. Paul wrote:

“Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, so that we might know the things that are freely given to us by God. These things also we proclaim, not in the words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:12-14)

This applies to anything you will ever, ever, ever experience, encounter or need while you walk on your faith journey with the Lord. You must acknowledge that what you are experiencing in the natural realm is false. God’s definitions of life are completely opposite of anything you’ll encounter. He defines strength as weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9) God defines foolish things as wise. (1 Corinthians 1:27) God defines invisible things as visible. (Hebrews 11:27) God defines cowards as mighty men of valor. (Judges 6:12) God defines death as life!! (Romans 6:6-9)

Only the Word of God can show you the spiritual perspective of your natural feelings.

So guess what? That means when you feel something (anger, disappointment, regret…) or when you don’t feel something (joy, peace, love, patience…) it’s all a lie! Only the Word of God can show you the spiritual perspective of your natural feelings. Remember that you are not an earthly being having a spiritual experience, but you are spiritual being having an earthly experience! People will always be annoying. They will always stay stupid things. People will always disappoint and infuriate you. People will always overlook you. People will always cheat, steal, lie, leave, fall short and will always be PEOPLE. Like you (and me)! Ha! <3 This is why Paul wrote, “I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. These are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.” (Galatians 5:16-17) Your spirit and your flesh will be in battle for as long as you walk on this earth so don’t let Satan fool you into reacting out of your feelings. STOP. BREATHE. CRY. PRAY. READ YOUR BIBLE. HOLD YOUR TONGUE. W.O.R.S.H.I.P. For how long?? AS LONG AS IT TAKES.

Thought for today

You will not win any battles in your life if you’re coming at them from a natural perspective, relying on man’s wisdom, using natural solutions and feeling what the natural man feels. If you don’t feel joy, do the actions of joy – worship – and the emotions of joy will come. (Nehemiah 8:10) God has promised! If you don’t feel peace, do the actions of peace and “think on these things” and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8-9) If you don’t feel patience, do the action of patience and wait. (Psalm 40:1) If you want to win a spiritual battle, you need spiritual weapons, you need to know how to use them and you need to be willing to slay your own flesh, before you even get to go after Satan! Satan is not your biggest enemy – YOU are! SHIELDS UP. WEAPONS OUT. FIGHT YOUR FLESH TO THE DEATH. THEN TURN AND GO AFTER SATAN!!!

Don’t forget to pick up a copy of The Way of the Worshipper on Amazon – and AVAILABLE NOW you can also purchase The Way of the Worshipper: A Devotional Workbook for deeper study, personal examination and spiritual growth!