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I'm just not "feelin" it.


Introduction to this letter written to my father

I’m just not “feelin" it!


Are you like me? Do you ever let your feelings get the better of you?


To say feelings are always wrong and can’t be trusted would be incorrect. Father God created us to have the capacity to feel. He feels Himself…deeply. When Jesus wept over Jerusalem he was “feeling” deeply in an extraordinary way, with the heart of Father Himself. So, we can conclude that properly aligned feelings are good and serve to enrich our design of being made “in His Image.”


But what about feelings that seem to bring us down and leave us in a place of worry and doubt, maybe even a place of desperation? You know feelings like: “I don’t feel God really loves me.” “I don’t feel like Father God is in control of my life.” The feelings that say, “If God really loved me, He wouldn’t let this be happening to me.” “I don’t feel God can forgive me for what I have done.” “I don’t feel like God is even there.”


I could fill volumes with possible feelings like the ones above we have all had at one time or another and have led us away from Father God. I wish I could tell you that I am past such thoughts and feelings, but I am not. Even this past week I have expressed doubts and feelings to my own heart and mind regarding things I want to “see” more “proof” from God that He is actually listening to me.


So, what do we do with these kinds of feelings? If we let them run rampant, we already know the result and it is not good, to say the least. If the feelings I have at this moment run counter to and contradict the Word of God then the conclusion has to be that either my feelings are lying to me or God’s Word is. I have staked my life on the truth that Father is always, will always be, true to His Word and His Word is Truth.


There-in lies the problem. If I do not know His Word, I do not have the ability to recognize when my “feelings” are lying to me. I heard someone say recently, “The voice I listen to will determine the destiny of my experience.” When those contradictions come, I can either listen to my feelings or I can listen to the Word of God. The one I listen to will dictate the condition of my life and heart. I have also heard it said, “If you repeat what God says, you will never be wrong.” So, if I want my feelings to be helpful and enriching then I must know Father’s Word and then repeat His truths back to my heart and mind. I need to be like the Psalmist:


“Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled? I will put my hope in God and once again I will praise Him, my savior and my God.” Psalm 42:11

In this letter to my father, Pops, I try to explain this idea of rouge and harmful feelings and what to do with them. My father’s generation was, at large, a generation of performance of duty. Feelings were not talked about much. Personally, I’d rather be a man of great “feelings” as long as they are giving light to the Truth of God’s Word. I still have a way to go.



 

This letter was written on January 14, 2019


I'm just not "feelin" it.


If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17



Good morning Dad,


The new year is well on its way. Sometimes though, it doesn’t feel like a new year. That “fresh start” feeling is gradually becoming absent. Just kind of seems like a continuation of the same ol’, same ol’. Nothing seems to have changed.


The same type of feelings can be transferred to our spiritual lives. I know I have invited Jesus in my life, I believe firmly that He has saved me from my sin. I know He has given me His Spirit to “seal the deal.” I have been made a “new creation” because of Christ “in me.” But I have to be honest, there are times when it feels like the same ol’, same ol’. Just being honest. There are days I don’t feel like a “new creation.” You ever feel that way Pops?



We shouldn’t be surprised at these types of feelings, nor should we get down on ourselves when these feelings arise in us. Living behind enemy lines is not an easy thing to do. Everything the Liar does is meant to make us feel this way, that our saving faith hasn’t changed anything; that it is not real or has slipped away. The whole world’s system is meant to pull you away from the Truth, the Truth that you ARE a new creation and that you are not at home in this world.


Satan knows he can’t take away our salvation. We have been “sealed” by the Holy Spirit. 2 Cor 1:22. No one can break this seal. But he sure can try to make us feel like we don’t “belong,” he can make this new creation look and feel like the old. He’s pretty good at waging this covert war against us. He so good at it that we don’t even see the war going on in the unseen. We, most times, feel like it’s us doing the internal sabotage.


"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5

So, what do we do when this happens? Nothing will change till we recognize the real daily battle we are in. You can’t fight an enemy you don’t recognize as being there. “For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 NLT. If we can identify the enemy then we can create a plan of counterattack on him.


Go back to the words I wrote on January 10. The answer is to seek Jesus first. Whenever we are near and close to Him, our enemy has to flee and his lies with him. When we are near Jesus, His Spirit inside us bears witness to our spirits that, yes, He is real and we are a new creation in Him. In the middle of the battle. Stop! Stop fighting with your own feelings and flawed human will. Run and hide into Truth, into the Rock where we will be safe and well. If we are going to use our will power, then let’s use it to seek shelter when the enemy’s lies start to bombard us.


We, who are in Christ, are a new creation. And when the war is over and the Grand Liar is barricaded in Hell, then this new creation that He has made of us will live to the full expression of its beauty in our new home.


Love you Dad




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