Feelings or Faith

Do you feel down? Do you feel alone sometimes and wonder where God is? “So do not fear,” God promises, “for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). Even though you may feel deserted and alone, you are not! You can't trust your feelings. They will betray you. But you can trust what God says in His Word. He will not betray you. His truth is rock-solid, and unchanging. He is the same today, yesterday, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). You may feel afraid. God says, “you don't have to be afraid, because I am your God.” You may feel evil battering you. God says, “I will deliver you from all evil.” Then He says something that will cost you something, but in the cost you will find greater faith. He says to look beyond your feelings and step out in faith. “Trust me,” He says, “and don't be afraid.”

Faith will cost you. It will cost you to trust in something that you cannot see or cannot feel (Hebrews 11:1). It will cost you to trust in God's truth over your feelings. Faith is a decision, and when it is made, feelings will one day fall in line with God's promise. That “one day” will come through training your mind, your heart, your very being to believe in God's Word instead of your feelings. It is a battle to be won. Finally on that “one day” you will discover it is easier to believe in God's Word rather than trust how you feel in a moment of time.

Step out in faith today, and give God a sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15). Praise Him for the promise that His truth is greater than how you feel. Decide to believe in His faithfulness. “Trust me,” He says. “don't worry because I am your God. I will strengthen you, and uphold you. You are never alone.” You can trust in Him over everything else. What an incredible promise!

HELP ME

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:24b

This is the cry of my heart. It reveals areas where I lack faith, but it also reveals how my faith has grown. Sounds like a paradox, doesn't it? "I do believe, Lord, yet I need MORE faith to believe." Think about it. As I grow closer to Him, I know Him more, and understand what His power means in my life. But at the same time I am more conscious that I fall short of complete trust in Him. This is the soul's growth. There is increased ability to believe, and then comes a plea for greater faith. It is a cry to overcome all my unbelief. It is a cry for complete trust in Him. My heart's cry is heard, and He answers my prayer with more faith. He also reveals where I still lack in faith, and imparts the power to walk the path that leads, step by step, upwards and closer to Him.

HIS JOY MY STRENGTH

“The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10b, NIV).

Love the life He gives. Although it is hard at times, it is a life that is filled with the strength of His joy. Fill your life with His joy at every moment. Take it in as you face the things that claim your day. Breathe in His joy until it washes away all that dispels His peace. 

Lift your face to the sun and breathe His presence into every part of your being. Hear Him in the chirping of morning birds and gentle sounds of insects. See Him in the breeze that clips through the branches of the trees. In the quiet of your moments take all of Him into your tired heart. The beauty of the gift of His creation brings healing to your spirit, and His joy to your heart.

Live a heart-closeness with Him. Healing of body, mind, and spirit comes from the joy and strength He has placed within your heart. Seek Him and His joy will bring the strength that is needed in every moment. You will have His strength to rebuke all that comes against His peace in your life. You will spiritually know, beyond any mental ability to understand, that His joy is truly your strength.

He Hears My Cry

“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles” (Psalm 34:15,17, (NIV).

At times I feel alone, but I know He is always with me. He knows how much I love Him, and how I yearn to live a righteous life. Although I try to live a life that is worthy of His sacrifice, sometimes I fail. It is in my failure that I realize how little I am without Him. Immediately I run to Him. and know His forgiveness the minute that I ask. I know His redeeming love the moment I cry out.

No one is perfect. But I am called to live a righteous life. It is forever a journey and a commitment. It is forever a sacrifice of my personal feelings to the Savior who sacrificed His life for me. Will I ever be “wholly righteous”? In His eyes, I can be. In my own, I can never be. Whatever lies before me, I surrender all that I can never be for all I can be in Him.

His constant presence always waits for my prayer. He watches closely to see my need, and hear my cry for help. He rescues me from my trouble in the way He has chosen to rescue me‒not the way that I decide is best to be rescued. Sometimes I don't understand His choice of rescue, but I know it is for my best. When I cry out He either delivers me from trouble or He gives me the strength to overcome what I face. Although it might not seem true at the time, His powerful strength to overcome what I face is also a great deliverance.

I love the old hymn that imparts “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me!” He more than watches. He delivers me. He saves me. He grows me. He changes me until righteousness is my greatest reward. And that is the greatest deliverance!

CHOOSE LIFE

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20a, NKJ).

We always have decisions to make. We either make them from a positive attitude or a negative attitude. We either make them willingly or grudgingly. We either make them in His will or out of His will. It is our decision, and the outcome not only effects us, but effects others. “Choose life,” Moses declared to the wavering Israelites, “so that you and your descendants may live.” Our decisions either bring blessing and hope or despair and discouragement. Our decisions speak life or death... not only to us, but for generations to come.

How do I know when my decision is right? It is right when it does not compromise the Word, and it does not compromise my heart in Jesus Christ. If I know Jesus Christ and love Him unwaveringly, my heart desires only to do what He wants. I may not know all the specifics of those wants, but He does. “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans” (Proverbs 16:3, NIV). If I commit my decision to the Lord, the outcome will become His. BUT this truth can only be discovered through a surrendered heart which always seeks Him, serves Him, and loves Him above all else.

Surrendering to Him means more in my life instead of less. His control in my life is better than my own, because it empowers me to choose life and be in His will. My control will only bring death. His control speaks life. It is my decision whether He controls my life or not. Today I surrender my control and choose life, that I may love the Lord my God, that I may obey His voice, and that I may cling to Him for He is my life until the very end.

LOOK AT ME, REST IN ME

“Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God” (Hebrews 12:2, MESSAGE).

Look at me. Don't look at your circumstance or failure. Don't look at what is wrong with others. Don't tear yourself apart over what are your own imperfections. You know them well, and the enemy has reminded you again and again. You are troubled. I am your rest. You are impatient. I am your patience. You have no peace. I am your peace. I know your heart, and I know you love me. I know you yearn to be stronger in faith. Here I am.... the author of your faith. I will also be the finisher of it. Let me.

Be still and learn of me. Quit struggling. You will know that I am God. Focus your mind on me. I am your life and your purpose. I am your healer, and I am the author of your faith. I will keep you in peace when your mind rests in me. You will grow stronger, and in your journey, you will grow more like me. If you stay in me.... if you rest in me.... if you grow in me....if you seek me continually.... if you serve me obediently, I will give you powerful faith to do great things in my name.

Continually abide in me, and you are not limited by your own limitations. You have become more than your own limitations. You have become all that I have decided you to be. You have found in your weakness that I am your strength. You have discovered that in your strength, I am your joy. You have discovered my peace that your mind can't comprehend. And that is alright, because you don't have to understand. You are at rest in me.

FREE TO LOVE

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37).

The inability to forgive someone is really judgment of that person. My anger, and even my hurt, do not give me permission to judge. It certainly does not give me permission to be angry. When I am devastated by someone's action, I have a choice what to do with the disillusionment and hurt. If I allow that hurt to define who I am, unforgiveness will take root in my heart. Then I will be in bondage to my pain.

The Holy Spirit invites us to acknowledge our pain so we might forgive. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom,” Paul writes (2 Corinthians 3:17). God does not want us in bondage to hurt or disillusionment over someone's failure. That hurt can become our own failure. I have the freedom and power to forgive. God calls us to give our very best, and that will not happen if there is judgment, hurt, and unforgiveness. My very best is to allow His love to flow through me, and to intentionally love with His love....no matter how I feel. His love will eventually change my cold hurting heart into one that is pliable in His hands. Disillusionment and hurt will dissolve, and I will be free from its bondage.

How about you? Are you tired of the pain you feel when another person, either intentionally or unintentionally, hurts you? Let the pain go. Let the disillusionment and hurt go. Make a decision to forgive. Look to Christ as your perfect sacrifice because no one else can be that. Realize that no one is perfect. The Lord “will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you, and will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). Instead of a cold heart of unforgiveness, you can have a heart of flesh that loves with His love. Your heart will be completely His instead of your own. You will be free to love instead of judge. Whom Christ sets free, is abundantly free.

IF I SEEK HIM

FOR SEPTEMBER 23

 

"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

 

 

If I seek Him I shall find Him. He rewards my journey with the grace of His presence. He is my God, and He will never fail me. His strength and joy will conquer all that comes against me. He is my guide through the pitfalls. No weapon can rise against me. No discipline can tire me. No problem can terrorize. I shall persevere, and hold on. I will make it through this difficulty because I have sought Him in all moments. He is my strength because I have none within myself, and in my lacking, I have discovered His.

WORTH THE RUN

Your life in Christ is a race. It is a race that creates the spiritual growth you need to make it to the end. Hebrews 12 gives clear and inspiring directions. "Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls" (Hebrews 12:2-3, The Message).

 

What would you think of the runner who gave up when faced with the first obstacle in a race? That hurdle is meant to give you a lift upward... not pull you back. It is meant to inspire you to greater growth. Are you ready to really run your race? Will you move forward, facing and springing over each obstacle with greater spiritual growth? Or will you run and hide and never discover the power He wishes to impart?

 

Rise above all obstacles in your race, and reach for His peace and joy. As you run through life with this attitude you will discover His power to carry you forward over life's times of pain. Refuse to remember your failures, and look to your finish line. It is His greatest promise, and is worth the run of your lifetime.

Expect New This Day

"This is the day which the Lord hath made; and we will rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24).

Does the thought of a new day bring discouragement to your heart? Do you forget I died for your agony, for your tragedy, and for your pain? Each day is not meant to discourage, but to inspire and lift you above what clouds your day. A new day is my gift to you. It is able to give you a new perspective and new hope. Whatever you face my love and power overcome discouragement and despair. Whatever the world tells you is only what the world tells you. It is not what I know and try to impart to your mind and heart. Rise in each new day, and rejoice in my gift of another opportunity. Trust me, and trust that this day can be the best when you allow me to carry you through it. Daily things done in my strength are able to give you greater faith in my promises. It is a new day! Expect my peace. Expect my love, and expect my promise.