Skip to main content

"Our choices must lead and our feelings will follow."

A thought by Chris Hodge from his book, The Daniel Dilemma: How to Stand Firm and Love Well in a Culture of Compromise (Kindle Locations 2278). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

I want to go back to a section that I had passed over but I believe we need to go back and look at.  It is a section that deals with feelings. 

Chris says, “Many bad decisions are made when feelings are in control. And then our feelings fade. Whether it’s feeling in love or road-rage angry, those emotions eventually pass like a storm front.”

He goes on, “In fact, the compulsion to lead with our feelings is probably one of the greatest challenges to living by faith. Many times I’ve sat across from another man in our church who is trying to justify leaving his wife so he can be with his new ‘soul mate.’ His rationale is that God wants him to be happy, right? So isn’t it better to be with the person he ‘truly loves’ rather than the woman he married all those years ago when he was ‘in a different place’? My response is never what these guys want to hear, but it’s always the same: God is more interested in your character than your comfort. He would rather have you holy than happy.

“It’s not that feelings are bad or dangerous in and of themselves. God made us to be emotional creatures who feel deeply. No, the problem with feelings is one of emphasis, of order, of priorities. Simply put, our choices must lead and our feelings will follow. If we only make decisions based on how we feel in the moment, then our decisions will lead us into all kinds of trouble. We simply can’t rely on our feelings to guide us.

“You may have heard this comparison before, but it’s a good one. Our feelings are like fire. When contained and focused properly, fire gives us warmth, cooks our food, and refines metal. But when left unchecked, a spark can become a wildfire in a matter of seconds, burning millions of acres. The same fire that provides so many benefits when contained by a brick fireplace can reduce everything in its path to ash when given free rein.

“Similarly, our feelings have wonderful potential to help us experience the joy, peace, and fullness of being alive. The psalmist wrote, ‘Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart’ (Ps. 37:4). Notice that it’s only after we take delight in the Lord that he gives us the desires of our hearts. Because when we are focused on God and delighting in our relationship with him, the desires of our hearts naturally revolve around what he wants for our lives. In other words, because we’ve made a choice to place God first in our lives, our emotions follow our will.”


So, what is it that controls you?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference.   You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...