Feelings are a very real part of life. I’m a ‘feely’ type person (I know I’m not the only one) and it's often as though I feel every emotion at a heightened level. This is a beautiful thing when it comes to feeling compassionate or joyful – but not so much when feeling sad or discouraged.
But here’s the thing: while each of us must acknowledge our feelings, strong feelings - like desire or anger – can lead to thoughts that we (as Believers) are not obliged to accept or listen to if we choose not to.
We are more than our impulses. We are more than our thoughts and we are certainly more than our feelings.
Just because something feels good, doesn’t mean it is good. And just because something feels bad – doesn’t mean it is bad. Think about it: some people feel good when they hurt others - that certainly doesn’t make it good. And just because you feel unattractive or undesirable doesn't mean that you are.
We need to get to a place where we consistently choose to act on the Word of God instead of our feelings.
To use a very simple example, I may feel sleepy and disinterested on a Sunday morning, causing me to think about staying at home– but that does not mean I should. I have the freedom to choose what to act on: I can choose to laze about in bed or I can choose to act on Hebrews 10:25 which speaks of how we must not forsake assembling with other Believers.
Another example is seeing a chocolate and feeling that I need to eat it. I may think ‘I just can’t help myself’ and begin to unwrap it – or I can remember that the Word says that self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, and choose to act in accordance with that instead.
Irrespective of what we feel, and the accompanying thoughts we get, we have the freedom to choose what we allow in our lives. After all, we are free from indwelling sin, we have the mind of Christ and the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us!
When we choose to act on the Word - instead of our feelings - we are choosing to live at a higher level. That’s not to say that the Word and our feelings will never agree – of course they will! But in the times when the Word and our feelings are at odds, we need to have the conviction to choose the Word of God – every time.
As we repeatedly choose to live in the Truth, we grow and mature, experiencing greater levels of freedom - leaving unfruitful thoughts and rash actions behind us.
You have the power to choose what you do with the feelings and thoughts that arrive at the doorway of your heart and your mind. You will always have the option to act – and therefore live - above and beyond what you’re presently feeling. We do this by coming into agreement with what God has said about any given situation.
And how can we agree with Him if we don’t know what’s in His Word? And so, we must read, and meditate, and declare.
We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought[b] and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.
2 Corinthians 10:5