Sometimes, when the going is good, we feel like “yea! God’s Spirit is with me! All is good =]”. But sometimes, especially when we feel like the whole world is against us, we feel like the Holy Spirit’s gone from us. I don’t know if any of you have ever felt that way before, but if you have, let me address that. And if you haven’t, it wouldn’t hurt to read on because you never know if and when your ship may just be dragged by dark and raging waters into that sharp and dangerous shallow reef. You may even encourage discouraged friends or acquaintances.
I am not one to belittle feelings and emotions. Quite the contrary, I think practically the world of them and can empathise to certain extents because I, for one, will admit that I am quite a sensitive person. I get bothered easily, take things personally quite a lot (even if they’re totally not personal attacks), get hurt really easily, etc. So I will be the first to acknowledge how powerful feelings can be and how significantly they can affect us (thoughts, actions, etc.)
Even so, there are times when we must pull ourselves above that wall of tumultuous emotions, climb up that tall ladder and see above & past the dark clouds, because authority does not come from our feelings; rather, it comes from the promises given in God’s Word, the Bible. We, Christians, live our lives not by feeling alone; but feeling kept in control, regulated by fact & faith. All this, of course, is based on how much we trust God & His Word.
I like how someone explained this:
Think of it as a train pulling cabooses (or carriages if you will).
I am not one to belittle feelings and emotions. Quite the contrary, I think practically the world of them and can empathise to certain extents because I, for one, will admit that I am quite a sensitive person. I get bothered easily, take things personally quite a lot (even if they’re totally not personal attacks), get hurt really easily, etc. So I will be the first to acknowledge how powerful feelings can be and how significantly they can affect us (thoughts, actions, etc.)
Even so, there are times when we must pull ourselves above that wall of tumultuous emotions, climb up that tall ladder and see above & past the dark clouds, because authority does not come from our feelings; rather, it comes from the promises given in God’s Word, the Bible. We, Christians, live our lives not by feeling alone; but feeling kept in control, regulated by fact & faith. All this, of course, is based on how much we trust God & His Word.
I like how someone explained this:
Think of it as a train pulling cabooses (or carriages if you will).
The train very simply demonstrates the link between fact (God & the Bible), faith (our trust in God & the Bible) and feeling. Obviously, the train (ie. fact) can puff along the tracks just fine with or without the cabooses (ie. faith & feeling), but the same cannot be said of the caboose: they cannot pull the train on their own. Likewise, we must not depend on our feelings to carry our faith. Instead, we should place our faith upon fact, and feeling comes after (think of more as a response, rather than a trigger).
Above all, remember this: once God begins His work in you, giving you His Holy Spirit to guide you and intercede for you, He will bring it into completion. He will never give up on you! If you need tangible proof, look around! Every face you see is a concrete & living evidence that God never will give up on you Whatever problems may come our way, whatever ups or downs we may face on our roller-coaster of life, trust and know that God is unchanging and is faithful.
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6)
Have confidence and be encouraged!
Above all, remember this: once God begins His work in you, giving you His Holy Spirit to guide you and intercede for you, He will bring it into completion. He will never give up on you! If you need tangible proof, look around! Every face you see is a concrete & living evidence that God never will give up on you Whatever problems may come our way, whatever ups or downs we may face on our roller-coaster of life, trust and know that God is unchanging and is faithful.
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6)
Have confidence and be encouraged!
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