God Is Bigger Then Our Feelings

I want to talk to you about feelings.

Feelings are a funny thing. In today’s world, our whole lives are based around how we are feeling. No one really wants to admit it but there aren’t a lot of people that are able to control their feelings all the time. In fact, I don’t think I know one person that can do it. Feelings and emotions control everyone on this planet. And for Christians, that’s not a good thing.

Have you ever been up really late at night, and watched some of those stupid infomercials. I know you have, because they’re the only things on at night. And you’re not any different then everyone else; there is just something about those products that pulls us in. And all of a sudden you are really intrigued, thinking in your head, “man I could really use an all in one sweeper/duster/mop/vacuum. Hahaha…. ya. Anyways, have you noticed that even on normal commercials, and ads on buses or magazines, that the media is really grasping on to the fact that people are controlled by their feelings? Think of how many new drugs are coming out to help you overcome a feeling you have. There are pills for everything. There are pills out there for depression, for anxiety, for stress, even pills to help you poop more often. Ok so that one was a little out of line, but you get the point. There are pills for every possible emotion and feeling we could have or even want to have. And of course as the really smart and intellectual humans that we are, we buy into their product and waste our money on a temporary fix.

Notice that I said temporary, because that is the biggest thing about our feelings. They are never going to go away. We are always going to have a feeling about something, but the difference is how we are going to handle those feelings. Most of the time we decided to do things based on our feelings. But what is wrong with that way of dealing with feelings, is that what feels right today, doesn’t always feel right tomorrow.

Really think about that for a second in your head. Just say it over and over and think back on all the things you have done out strictly based on feelings. Do any of them really work out? Think of that car that you really wanted to buy at the time, has it really completely satisfied your feelings up to this point? Or what about those sunglasses that were going to make you look better then anyone? Oh man if you could only have those sunglasses, then everything would be better… well, is it?

Let me show you an example of feelings. I’m currently teaching a preschool at my college for psychology credits. I have a whole class or fifteen or so 2 to 3 year olds. First off, I love this class so much. It’s such a blessing to be put in a situation with these little kids, and just play with them and love on them all day. You have probably heard that phrase before, “faith like a child”. I always think of it when I am with them. Anyways, I’ve learned a lot about kids this age and how they react to situations. I have also learned many ways to deal with these little guys when they start going crazy! Its funny to see these kids balling their heads off because they don’t want mommy to leave, but as soon as I come up to them and say one word, like “dinosaurs”, they immediately forget that mom is even there, and sit down with me pretending that dinosaurs are destroying the train track! (A train track which I had so elegantly set up a half our prior to the kids coming, but that’s another situation all in itself). But do you see how easily their feelings are in control of them. Take now, for example, the feelings of a 3 year old, and put them in a 20 year olds body. Could you even imagine what they would act like? Even deeper, make that a 20 year old Christian’s body. We say to ourselves, “that’s ridiculous, I would never act like a little child”, but in our walk with God, even though we don’t want to admit it, we cant control our feelings anymore then one of my little preschoolers can control their own feelings.

I think its really funny how we try to come up with these sayings all the time that are excuses for why we are feeling a certain way. We say things like…

I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed today…

-or-

I’m just having a real hard time right now…

Are these true? Really? Or are you just not in control of your feelings.

You see, feelings that our out of our control steal our confidence. Then slowly but surely we fall deeper and deeper into our feelings. We try over and over to do something right, in order to get a feeling. We need to stop that. Because there isn’t anything we can do right, to get a feeling that will give us happiness forever. We need to go to the one thing that is bigger then our feelings. We need to go to God.

I really feel that you can see where someone is at on their walk towards Christ based on the way they handle their feelings. As Christians we are suppose to be living above our feelings. But that is easier said then done.

Why are you so downcast, oh my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my savior and my God.
-Psalm 42:5

Scripture shows us that there is only one thing we can put our trust in. When we are feelings down, or lazy, or unloved, God is the only thing that can break us free from our feelings. God is the only thing that is bigger then our feelings. And the best thing is, God knows how we are feeling. He already knows why you are feeling a way that you are feeling. And he is there, wanting to free you from those things that are making you mad, and upset, and sad, and lonely.

Look at how 1 John talks about how we need to live based on actions and truth, and not on our words and our tongues. Because he knows that we cannot control our feelings all by ourselves, but that we need God to help us know how to handle them.

Dear Children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater then our hearts, and he knows everything.
- 1 John 3:18-20

I love the last verse; …whenever our hearts condemn us. For GOD is GREATER then our hearts, and he knows EVERYTHING! In the New Living Translation it says;

…even when we feel guilty, God is greater then our FEELINGS and he knows everything.

See God is the only one that knows us, inside and out. He is the only one that knows how we are “feeling”. Not pills, psychiatrists, a new car, more money, a girlfriend, or anything else this world has to offer, are going to be able to know our feelings, and or replace our feelings. Feelings are always going to be there, and they only way to fix them is to understand how to handle them. And only God knows that. So trust in the Lord, and he will show you the true happiness of life. Imagine if you could make yourself happy all the time, with nothing more then the love of God. It’s possible, and we all can do it.


Dear Lord,
I pray that you will hear my call to you. God I know that my feelings are overtaking me and my everyday decisions. Lord, I ask you to help me control them, because you know my heart and the temptations that it’s having. I give all of myself up to you Lord, I know that you are good, and I trust in who you are. Help me have power over my tongue and my mind Lord, so that the emotions and choices I make everyday are to praise you, and are not choices made to make me feel good God your love makes me feel amazing, and I will love you with everything I have, because I know I can be happy in all things, if they are through you. Be with me Lord, and lead me closer to you. In your precious name I pray.
Amen

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
- 1 John 2:15-17

Isn't it funny that our whole life we try to please others?
When we should be trying to please God....

We always try and compare ourselves to people.
When we should be trying to compare ourselves with Jesus.

Live life for our Lord, not for our world and its posessions.
Because He truly loves us, and the world only pretends to.
_______________________________________________________

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."

~ 1 Corinthians 2: 9

You Always Reveal Yourself, Lord

I definitely have a love hate relationship with this here blog. First the hate part, because it is the simplest.

I HATE YOU BLOG!!
~Writing is one thing that I don’t always like to do. For me, it involves way too much thinking. Like Nike, I am much more of a "just do it" kind of person. I don’t like to really think things over and make sure everything sounds good and is in the right place. I would rather just type what is on my mind and that is the end of it. Writing is not one of my favorite things to do. But this blog here has been a real thorn in my side. I find myself reading and re-reading my blogs to make sure that they sound alright. Every time I have never been satisfied with the way my blogs flowed and how they sounded. But for some reason I would publish the blog how it was. Now if you know me, I never would normally do this. I am a perfectionist. Need I say more....?? If I am not satisfied with something I would either do it until I was totally and utterly content with what I have done, or I would quit all together and try again another time. Normally this never happens for writing, because I dislike it. I never think too hard about what I want to write, and if I do write something, I rarely ever will go through and make sure it sounds ok.

But I’m not just writing a blog because. I am writing to God. Man, can I even say that. Are my words even close enough to being worthy to write to God? In all my nothingness, God still loves me, and he accepts everything that I give to him, even my blogs. And that is the exact reason why I love this Blog....

Now the part that is a little harder to understand and a lot harder to write. Here is the love part.

I LOVE YOU BLOG!!
~Connecting and spending time with God is something that is hard for a lot of people to do. And trust me; I am right there with everyone on it. I find myself on fire, reading and eating up the gospel every free second I have in the day.

And life is GREAT!!!

But then slowly, since things are going so good, I start to lose myself and the direction I was going. And I take all that God has given me the past few days, and abuse it. I decide I can go out with friends tonight, and tomorrow morning I catch up on my reading. Then the morning comes, and since I am feeling so good, I decide I don’t need to read today because I don’t need it.....

Let me get back to what I was saying before I jump too far ahead of myself. See I love this blog. It is probably one of the greatest things that have happened to me my entire life. I’m scared of it. I don’t really ever know what I am going to write about, and I get scared because I don’t want to make a fool of myself in front of whoever reads what I write. Sometimes, days go by and I haven’t written anything. So I worry. Another day goes by, and I worry more. Nothing.... I have nothing to write when I worry. But then I take time to give everything and all my worries over to God. Surrender to him, and he provides. Just like he always does. I study. I read. I pray. I ask for advice from my mentors and friends. And then I write. Whatever God is telling me, I write it out. And it always works. Always.

That’s why I love this blog so much. It is teaching me something I never would expect from writing a blog. Surrender. Anything and everything. He is always there waiting to take over my life. And when he does... complete bliss. God is good.

Now, let me start back up with what I was talking about a few paragraphs up. You see the devil deceives. He lies. He tricks. That is what he is. And when you are close to God that is when you are most vulnerable to him. When you are close to God and you are reading his word you are growing in him. As you grow you start to see your life going great and things seeming to just happen and fall into place. It’s because the Holy Spirit is with you. Because God is finding joy in the fact that you are reading and learning his word (Psalm 1:1;2 How well God must like you .... you thrill to God's word, you chew on scripture day and night). You need to understand that the word is his son. The word is Jesus. And when you read Jesus, and learn from Jesus; you start to live like him. You start to become one with the universe and everything that is going on in it, and life flows. You are living a life as God intended. But as soon as you start to veer off the road and you stop reading and learning, the devil sees. And he knows that you are in an exposed part of life because he knows that we don’t understand why life is so easy. But now you do. It’s because of the word. It’s because the word is Jesus. And as soon as we understand that, Satan won’t have a weak spot to attack. Just remember next time you feel good, and remember God.

Praise our lord for everything, because that is what he has given us.

Tonight I wanted to write. I wanted to say something to the world to help them grow closer to God. I wanted to show people how amazing he was. I didn’t know what to write until I was looking around my computer. There is an option that is on everyone’s computer. It lets you hide and folders that you want hidden from people just looking around on your computer. And until you enable you computer to show the hidden files, it looks like nothing is there. Well I had an old journal as one of these hidden folders. When I enabled the option to show me the hidden files, there it was. And when I opened it this was one thing that I found. And I knew God wanted to share it with everyone....

God
You are my God
I shout your name as loud as I can from mountain peaks
Because I want the world to know about your love
How sad it is that people live without knowing why they are living

God
Give me strength to help them
Give me the wisdom to show them the truth
Use me as a warrior for your kingdom
Give me power to strike down sin, and defeat wretched demons

God
Your praise drips from my lips like water from icicles on a warm winter day
Who am I to want anything in life
All I should devote my life to, is praising you
I worship you with everything I am

God
You are my God
But I will share you with the world


Dear Lord,
You are so good.....

*~FAITH~*

What really is faith. A quick web search brought me this definition. Lets talk about it...

faith -- (fth)n.1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.

Last year around this time i had one of the biggest adrenaline rushes of my life. I agreed to go with a bunch of friends down south to a little city called Eloy. Even though i said it was little, there was one huge thing in it. It was the number one skydiving capitol in the Nation. That’s pretty much the only reason anyone even came to this little town. To be completely honest I don’t even know if it can be balled a town, because there is only 2 or 3 total streets in the entire area! Anyways, after 15 minutes of schooling, we got strapped in and boarded a plane. At this point, i have no idea how to sky dive. I know you have to pull some string thing so the parachute comes out. Then you land softly on the ground, some how steering yourself with some pulley’s. I was ready to sky dive!!!! Not... I was terrified out of my mind. But i remember one thing my friend told me, "Have FAITH in your instructor, they will take care of everything for you." You see, the first time you go you have to be strapped to an expert. These guys have jumped thousands of times out of planes. Some even ten thousands of times. So they really know what they are doing. But still, I was scared they might forget something, or they might try and be cool and show off. And then something would go terribly wrong! But I had to have faith in them. And so did everyone one else that has ever gone skydiving. And that’s what I want to talk about.


EVERYONE HAS FAITH
Im reading this amazing book right now by Rob Bell. Its called Velvet Elvis and its getting more popular in the Christian community everyday. In the first chapter he talks about faith and makes some amazing points that I really feel I need to share with whoever reads my blog! So most of this stuff im going to be talking about is coming from him....

I realized that day that everyone that goes sky diving for the first time has to have faith in their instructor, or else no one would ever go. I had faith, my friends all had faith, and the people there i had never seen before in my life had faith. How do i know that...?? Because there is no one in the world that would jump out of a plane 13,000 feet in the air, strapped to a person who is suppose to get them to the ground safe and unharmed, without having faith in them. When it comes to faith, everyone has it. Some people might try to say that they don’t have faith in anything, because its just too hard for them. But like Rob Bell puts it, "Everybody has faith. Everybody is following somebody.

Here is a great example of this. Lets say there is a person who believes in the creation story. Everything that happens in Genesis. And they believe that God has plans and a purpose for everyone in this world. While at the same time, someone believes that there is no reason for life. That we evolved from monkeys and when we die nothing is going to happen. This is not and argument between a person of faith and a person without faith. Because these are both faith perspectives. They are just built on a system of different BELIEFS.


Rob Bell says, "an atheist is a person of tremendous belief." When we talk about the things that matter the most, we aren’t talking about faith or no faith, belief or no belief. We are talking about faith in what? Belief in what? He says,"the real question isn't whether we have it or not, but what we put in it.

This last little sentence really started to get me to think. You see, everyone follows somebody. There isn't a soul out there who isn't influenced by a person, or a thing. We make decisions every second that effect our lives in dramatic ways. All these decisions start with out beliefs. And those beliefs had to come from somewhere. We all have been formed by different people, places, and things. Weather it be our parents, teachers, advertisements, science, mentors, friends... we are taking all this information and living our lives by it. Because its what we believe.
Some people even try to say that they are following themselves. That they don’t follow a person or a religion. But they got that perspective from someone else. They got that idea from somebody.


BELIEVERS
This is where it really hits home with me. And i hope that you feel the same way. Now that you understand that everyone has faith, we need to decide for ourselves what we are going to have faith in. This is one of the greatest things God could ever give us, and almost everyone on the earth overlooks it. Its called free will. Because we can believe in whatever we want. People just get blinded by the world and the possesions inside of it. If everyone was smart, they would live the best possible life they could. Because it would bring them the most happiness. Let me give you and example. I as a christian am trying to live a life just as Jesus has taught me to. I believe that this is the best possible way for me to live. Rob Bell really puts it into blunt truth with these next few sentences. He says....

Im convinced being generous is a better way to live.

Im convinced forgiving people and not carrying around bitterness is a better way to live.

Im convinced having compassion is a better way to live.

Im convinced pursuing peace in every situation is a better way to live.

Im convinced listening to the wisdom of others is a better way to live.

Im convinced being honest with people is a better way to live.

I believe in everything that he is talking about. And who wouldn't. Really take a second to read over these few sentences and ask yourself, what is wrong with anyone of these. I promise you there is nothing you will come up with. And you know how i know it. Because this is what we were made for. God created us to love, and to live a life like his son Jesus did. See, when you start to live a life like Jesus did, you start to realize something. As time goes on you see yourself living more "in tune" with reality. You are more in sync with the universe and everything that is going on with it. In other words, life is easier. God is amazing. There is nothing beyond God. I know you have beliefs and faith in something. And if you didnt know it, then now you do. So take that next step and find out what you believe in, and what you have faith in. And Jesus will be there waiting for you, showing you the next step.

I want to leave you with a verse on of my good friends shared with me the other day. THANKS VERSE BUDDY!!!

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
- Romans 8:38-39

Follow Jesus, and you will understand the Love of our God.

Lord, how mysterious you are. You have the ability to control and force every one of us lord, because we are your creation. But through your Love for us God, you have given us free will; the ability to choose our beliefs and our faith. I praise you God for what you have given me, and I worship your name every second of my life. Even though my praise is unworthy, I give my life to you day after day, because you are worthy. I pray God that my words will touch someone out there that needs them. I pray God that you are able to open the eyes of the hearts of all the people in the world God; so that they may see your majesty. Lord words fall short trying to explain who you are and what you do God. That is why I live like Jesus. And that is why I LIVE LOUD. God give me the courage not to use words, but to use actions to show people the glory of your kingdom. Give me your love lord, because I choose to have faith in you. I choose to believe in you God, because you believe in me. In your precious name,

Amen