Feelings Over Truth?

I have had a couple “bumpy” days… I have noticed that some days I have a greater need of mercy… not only from God but from others too!  The thing with God’s mercy is that He has given me all the mercy I will ever need forever… given in daily doses! “Through the Lord’s mercy, we are not completely wiped out. His compassion is never limited. It is new every morning. His faithfulness is great.” Lamentations 3:22-23

The problem is so many times I don’t “feel” it because I am choosing to do things my own way.  Doing things my own way only helps me to put my trust in me & not Him! What a colossal mistake is that??? Yet I continue to do it over & over again!

Trusting in the Lord means I am surrounded by mercy (Psalms 32:10)  Being in a holding pattern of sorts right now in my life, some days it is not so easy to just trust that everything will work out!  There are many moments that I feel God will not come through for me, but because I trust Him with my whole life… I know He always will!  It is a funny thing about feelings… they can rarely be trusted!  God put feelings & emotions in us… that is true, but He put them there, I believe, as warning signals not as a way to live our lives!  I know for myself if I trust on how I feel to get things accomplished or to live my life… I would never do anything or go anywhere most days!  I heard a statement that courage is not the lack of fear but the faith to do it in spite of fear!  Some days I have more courage than other days!

For instance, if a person is afraid to fly they can get on the plane without too much anxiety, but as soon as the wheels come off the ground that is when trust has to kick in!  You feel like life is out of control… you may not have a clue about how the whole flying thing works, but it is then that you must trust that it will be okay!  God said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” And that is why I know & can boldly say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear! What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

Trust, faith, mercy… those are all great words! They seem so “holy”… we can use them when talking to someone about their problems.  “Trust in the Lord, He has got this!”  “Have faith that it will all work out for His good!”  “God has poured out His mercy on you in this situation!”  I am sure I have said a variation of these statements at one time or another. And I truly meant them!  But when it is me going through it… like I said those are great words, but do I really “feel” that to be true? 

I was reminded once again recently that trust is an all or nothing choice… either I trust God with everything or I really don’t trust Him with anything!  That may seem like a harsh statement, but trust is trust!  When we can’t see what the next 5 minutes might hold for us… can we trust God that it will be okay?  “I trust You with this 5 minutes, Lord!” If what it takes is to trust Him for 5 minutes at a time… then trust Him with your whole being for that 5 minutes & then repeat it over & over & over! I know that sound ridiculous, but if that is what it takes, then that is what it takes!  And FYI… I am writing this for me as much as for anyone else!

I was thinking about all the “changes of tomorrow” people are going through… the kids going back to school, the economy not doing so great, loss of a job, illness, and on and on. Those things are hard circumstances! In the middle of that you may not “feel” like God will come through… how do you trust & know that He will?

God sent His Son to the world as a sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:9).  You can read in Matthew 26 how that even Christ asked for His Father to let the cup of death pass from Him, but He also said, “not as I will but as You will.” (v. 39)  If Christ was able to trust His Father even through death & knew it would be alright… how can I not trust Him through these circumstances of life? God gave His Son’s life for my sins… why would He not do what is best for my life now?

His answers may not always look the way we think they should look, but that is okay! Trusting Him has no limits!  It is through trust we can find contentment & through contentment we will bring Him glory!  Oh, how I want my life to bring Him glory!

Father, I thank You that no matter my feelings I know You are always with me & in control of every situation.  I praise You for Your goodness & faithfulness. When the world around me seems to be crumbling Your mighty arm is my shelter… I trust You for my salvation & I trust You with each one of my days. One step at a time is all You require of me & I can do that knowing You hold the plan.  Thank You for loving me! I pray blessings over each person that reads these words; shine Your light in those dark places. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Rejoicing in Truth!

A Mystery I Don't Have to Solve...

Prayer is such a mystery! Sometimes you pray and get an answer right away. Other times you pray and get nothing… no, “yes”… no, “no”… or in the silence, “just wait.” I had an experience recently of a promise God had given me a couple years ago, what I thought was being fulfilled, in just the way I wanted it to be.  I just knew it… I had it all worked out in my mind how I felt God was doing this thing He had promised!  I built myself up believing that this was it… God is going to give me just what I want, how I thought I wanted it!  I was acting like God needed my help to figure this out!  Wrong! Don’t throw stones… you know we’ve all done that!

Whose promise was this anyway?  I was not the one who asked God for His promise… He gave it to me and along with that I had to remember that He will fulfill it in His time, how He knows is best, in a way I could NEVER imagine!  Knowing that is all good and dandy being on this side of it looking back, but it was a very hard, I mean very hard (who’s stubborn?), few days getting over my feelings of disappointment!

I can admit it now, I acted like a spoiled brat, don’t get me wrong my heart was hurting and I know God knew that, but my reaction to my devastation was not pretty!  It went something like this… “I don’t feel like You are hearing me”… “I don’t feel like You care that this is what I want”… “I don’t feel You see what an opportunity this is to bring You glory?”… “I just feel like taking my “marbles” and going home! What does any of it matter anyway?”  Like I said, not a bit of beauty in my attitude.

So I spent a few days wallowing in my mud… then God sent someone to reach out to me… just that act of caring helped some of the clouds to be pushed away.  I knew my time of “mourning” had to be finished.  I started asking God to show me what was causing me to react in such a way.  I asked Him to reveal to me what that black blob was in my heart.  Holy Spirit shined His light on it so I could see it was a blob of my tangled up feelings!  I let my feelings and emotions, something God created me with for good, to be used as a weapon against myself.  He also showed me that it is not about my feelings, but it is about God’s Truth! What an ugly mess we can easily get ourselves in when we live by our feelings and not God’s Truth.

So why am I sharing all of my spiritual ugliness?  I don’t really know… I would just as soon forget it and move on, but God showed me in James 5:16 – “Confess your faults to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”  I know that it is only in my helplessness God will be glorified!

Maybe someone reading this is going through a similar struggle.  Maybe God wants to use my experience to bring Him glory… without a test you will never have a testimony. Maybe we need to start praying more for each other.  All I know is it is really not about me, but about what Christ is doing through me and through each one of you.  Someone said to me recently, that this is the year for boldness… boldness for Christ.  Are we ready to be bold?

“He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:16-21

“Prayer works because God is in control. The basis of all miracles is God's sovereignty. Why does He do one and not another? Because God is in control. We have to trust His wisdom and His goodness.” – Rick Warren

So yes, prayer is a mystery, but God’s Truth is not… He is our Provider (Genesis 22:14), our Healer (Exodus 15:26), our Protector (Exodus 17:15), our Peace (Judges 6:24), our Shepherd (Psalms 23:1), He is good (Psalms 86:5), He is just (Isaiah 30:18), He is faithful (1 Corinthians 1:9)… just a few.

Rejoicing in Truth!