i have to admit that i was inspired by what a friend of mine was saying about the way they feel about their relationship with God and i can relate to it completely. i know that my replonsibility as a Christian is to share with other people what God has shown me. after all... it's about streams of living water, not stored up personal reserviors. i have to let out what comes in so that more can come. so here goes. God has time and time again shown me that my feelings don't matter when it comes to my situation and especially my relationship with Him. i'm trying to find an easy way to put this. basically, if i feel like im worthless or can't get anything right or someone else is better at being a Christian or better at praying or better at leading worship or better at spending time with God... if i feel that God can't use me or that my past disqualifies me from use in the kingdom of God or that God is totally disappointed in me or that i'm way down on the list of God's favorites or whatever...
it flat out doesn't matter.
my feelings do not dictate who i am in Christ. how i feel does not direct me (and by 'does' i mean 'should'), it is the will of God that directs my path. lies and foolish thoughts don't tell me anything about who i am or my quality as a person. do not let yourself be held captive by thoughts or feelings, instead "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2cor 10:5)
mmm... it's starting...
"Do not give the devil a foothold" (eph 4:27) by allowing yourself to be directed by how you feel so that you leave yourself wide oven to be beaten down by whatever crappy thoughts come your way. pay careful attention to feelings and thoughts that don't line up with God's word. the enemy likes to hand me a feeling and then allow me a little while to search around for why i feel the way that i do... which, conveniently is always followed by a reason that seems to line up. or another way is that he will begin to whisper thoughts in my ear and tell me how worthless i am or whatever and then come at me with every kind of depression and condemnation. friends "fix your thoughts on Jesus" (heb 3:1). pray that God would help you learn to recognize when this is happening to you and then learn to stand up against it.
now feel the passion in this verse: "No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; And every tongue that rises up against you in judgment you will show to be in the wrong." take the time to recognize when things are just not right. you have to consciously take a stand in your mind and encourage yourself away from the stinkin' thinkin'. believe of yourself what God says that you are.
friends please take this to heart. it has been a long, grueling, bloody battle for me to get this and i want nothing more than for you to have victory in this part of your life. i bring this up "in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes." (2cor 2:11) i know you all probably know what i'm talking about and i'm no billy graham. it just means enough to me that i wanted to bring it up. bad days happen to everyone, i know that. all i'm saying is when you see the train of crappy-emotion-based and crappy-thought-based living headed your way, please, step off the track.
