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"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?
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