Depth of Feeling

2 days ago12 min read

In modern teachings, we hear that “feelings are the number one enemy of believers." Actually, Satan is.

The statement “feelings are the enemy of believers” was likely initiated with well-meaning intentions, but if not carefully analyzed, this blanket presumption can cause undue harm. Misunderstanding it stifles our emotions wherein we put our feelings and personalities (our souls) on the backburner in lieu of “more important things”—this habit ultimately distracts us from the Word. Adhering to this phrase at face value can depress us and actually harden our hearts to the pain and suffering we see in the world today—something Scripture does warn us against.

Your soul, and the health of it, is important.

In fact, the condition of your soul is critical

in regard to your faith and your life.

Consider that Scripture is packed to the brim with words that are to include all of our emotions (e.g. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit of God, which is to be all-permeating; see Galatians 5:22). We are to pour ourselves out to God (Isaiah 58:10). We are to love God with all that we have, all that He endowed us with, all He created us with, and all He gives us…

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect)(Matthew 22:37, AMPC).

While we are not to be “led” by our feelings and emotions, any more than our thoughts—but, rather, are to be led solely by God Himself as communicated by Him to us through His inspired Word and His Voice—God does use the characteristics He built us with, including our emotions and personality, to compel us forward, to personally communicate with us, to enliven us and propel us on in His ordained acts to which we are to be obedient in love.

Be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold. Be still, for the day is holy. Do not be grieved and sad…(Nehemiah 8:10-11, AMPC; paraphrase, author’s).

This does not say, “don’t feel anything.” Rather, this passage allows us to feel the JOY of GOD which overcomes our sorrow. It allows God to be the One to cheer us up!

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (Matthew 14:27, NIV).

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33, KJV).

We must acknowledge that God made us with feelings, emotions and a mind. If we do not use them to honor God, they will become unhealthy, unsound. You have God’s PERMISSION, and in fact, COMMAND, to be happy. It is not contingent upon world events or your past or present issues. It is contingent upon God being pure JOY.

You have been given the mind of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:16, AMPC)! Remember, Paul wrote the Philippian church, with joy, from a prison cell. How? He based his joy on God, not the world. Likewise, as Christians it is our duty not to suppress our feelings but to give them to God to fill with His Spirit and use them—sorrow to joy, righteous anger to Godly-inspired action. The word “emotion” is best considered to mean: Eternal MOTION. Our thoughts and feelings are to compel us to think, feel, behave and act in a way that will bring glory to the Kingdom of God in an eternal way.

To allow God to use our emotions correctly, we are to know the Word, have it imprinted in our hearts, souls, and minds, and we are to work with God, on a daily, hourly, or moment-by-moment basis to bring our feelings, emotions, and thoughts into alignment with the Word of God, and thusly our will, plans, and vision in line with God’s will, plans, and vision. Prayer is breathing with God, in acts, in communion, in depth of feeling, in LIFE: using all of our heart, mind, and emotion to obey God’s Word. We are to give God EVERTYTHING WE HAVE and ARE, including our depth and height of feeling. For the sake of the Kingdom of God, AWAKE and come ALIVE (Isaiah 60:1-2; Matthew 28:6). Come up out of your depression and stagnation! Arise!

Isaiah 58:6-14 is an excellent passage to read (see Bible Study section below). In it, God tells you and me what He wants. It is not religious observance in which we go through the motions but do not feel or know anything; rather, it is love—full blown and on fire; it is compassion, reaching into pits; it is acts of justice in the face of intimidation—all based on His true character. If we do not recognize sorrow, and feel it; nor recognize compassion, and act on it; nor recognize joy, and celebrate it—are we “alive”?

Remember, God is brave and fully engaged.

So…why aren’t we?

Regarding emotion, and the ebbs and flows of it, depth ultimately produces height:

…For what was sown on thin (rocky) soil, this is he who hears the Word and at once welcomes and accepts it with joy (Matthew 13:20, AMPC).

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows) (John 10:10, AMPC).

May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it]; [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself] (Ephesians 3:17-19, AMPC)!

Love is our compass; the VOICE of God and the HEART of God is the magnet that moves our needle, and tells us our direction to go in. Once we are aligned with HIM, we have vibrancy:

I am able to do nothing from Myself…but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders. Even as I hear, I judge. [I decide as I am bidden to decide. As the voice comes to Me, so I give a decision], and My judgement is right (just, righteous), because I do not seek or consult My own will…but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me (Jesus in John 5:30, AMPC).

Feelings: to go off in a ditch on either side of the road of them is not ideal, but neither are we to be afraid of feeling things, for God will rescue and correct you if you humble yourself and come to know Him better through them. Feel the pain. Feel the JOY. Whenever you have any choice, choose JOY, or at the very least, expect it [HIM] to come always.

We cannot flatten our feelings because we are tired of crying, for soon after, we are dying. Do not neglect your feelings. They are valid. We need to cry and seek God and ask Him to make us once again laugh, genuinely, with a shine in our eyes as He designed. People tend to go to extremes when they are spoon fed spiritual things by other people, but we have to take the time to explore them deeply in our personal prayer time with God. We are to seek our daily bread from God Himself and Him only. He is our GOD and LORD. (See the Lord’s Prayer.)

We can take the elimination of emotion, or neglect of our own feelings,

to an extreme God never intended.

God made me this way—to feel things, to be inspired by Him, to dream things, to try some things… I personally like to be inspired by God, even in the desert; He does speak like rain.

Consider that…

Jesus’ mere announcement caused a baby in the womb, in the dark, not fully developed, to leap with sheer joy (Luke 1:44). This is hope!
And Jesus wept (John 11:35). This is also hope.
Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers (Mark 11:15-18). Hope!
He brought peace. Definitely, hope!
He had a great deal to say, but He also went quiet. Inside, He always hoped on in God in faith.
All emotional things in common, Jesus went off often to pray in full hope and trust in God.

In summation, Christ was fully in touch with the broadest range of God-granted emotion. He never shut it down; He never cut God off. And, no matter what He felt, He always HOPED on in GOD. He was anchored in hope.

Moreover, it is Christ Who inspires the very emotions that compel us to act on behalf of others, not as a fight so much as a right—the right to hope in God. We are seekers and actors upon the righteousness of God in Christ. His hope, His presence, His essence, His E-Motion (eternal motion) is in us now to carry, to show, to administer—through the difficulties and victories both.

The Problem with a Seared Conscience...

A “shock to the conscience” is a term used in law. It is how we innately, as God-created beings, recognize injustice so we can allow the opportunity for Justice to enter into any given personal situation or social problem (see, for example, Isaiah 58:6-14 on God’s idea of “fasting”; or, Jesus acting as judge in the Pericope Adulterae in John 7:53-8:11). God’s Mercy is equitable. It is when our hearts grow cold and we divide that we are witnessing trouble. The result cracks a line through unity to the extreme that we lose our Christian compassion for those on the earth. When this happens, we must raise a flag in the midst of the plain of society that says, “READ THE WORD OF GOD”; for all our sakes, please do.

What does God say? What would Jesus do? Is this or that contemporary act contrary to the laws of God and the commandments of Christ, or does it support them cleanly, without a blow to our conscience?

This is our government—Christ Who is the Word.

We need to read Him.

And if we stifle our emotions, soon after, we silence our conscience. It is no longer shocked. We become numb to the issues befalling the world and individuals around us.

Again, Satan (not our feelings) is the number one enemy of the believer. I ask you to put down the plastic media device you are clinging to for a moment and look your neighbor in the eye. Take their hand. Assist them. Real life is better—you can experience it for yourself. Giving is better—you can feel the joy for yourself.

So do what you literally can, including intercessory prayer on behalf of other people. Do all that you do in love, with the Joy and Compassion God has given you (I Corinthians 16:14). If you pray and you find all you do is cry, God will turn your sorrow into Joy, your ashes into beauty, your mourning into praise (read Isaiah 61, full chapter). Give Him your emotions and give Him your time.

God uses our emotions like a Master would play a violin—you will run the gamut of God-granted emotions but it is ultimately a beautiful masterpiece. Life is richer if you feel it; if you engage your personality and soul fully. Do not pretend or use a false identity. You are a Christian and you have a heart. You feel things. This is NORMAL and EXPECTED. So long as you give all your emotions to God and let Him use you in loving ways, He will take care of you and guard your heart with all diligence along with you. Emotion and compassion are major components of the believer’s life.

If we refuse to feel sorrow or go through the pain,

we may miss the joy and abundance that is coming!

In short, be full of faith and mindful to be blessing. It is an act of obedience for you to allow God to use the emotion He placed in your heart to connect with you intimately. Do not let the enemy distract you from feeling things. Have a heart—a soft one, responsive to the touch of God. Put your attentions and affections on God alone and He will have you see and assist others.

Remember, Matthew 24:12 (AMPC) warns us: “And the love of the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity…” in the land.

So do the opposite of growing cold. Bring the love of Christ into your world vibrantly. Stand fast on the truth that sets you free—God’s goodness always overcomes evil. Be compassionate—toward God, yourself, other people, and other living things.

May God bless you.

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ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURES:

I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth (Jesus in Revelation 3:15-16, ESV)!

Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways (God in Psalm 81:13, ESV)!

Listen in silence before Me, O islands and regions bordering on the sea (Isaiah 41:1a, AMPC)!

Listen to Me [says the Lord], O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, you who have been borne by Me from your birth, carried from the womb (Isaiah 46:3, AMPC).

Listen to Me, you stiff-hearted and you who have lost heart, you who are far from righteousness (from uprightness and right standing with God, and from His righteous deliverance) (Isaiah 46:12, AMPC).

Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, My called [ones]: I am He; I am the First, I also am the Last (Isaiah 48:12, AMPC).

Come near to me and listen to this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it happened, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent His Spirit in and with me (Isaiah 48:16, AMPC).

BIBLE STUDY:

1) Take a moment and sit quietly before the Lord. Tell Him you are listening. Ask Him to speak to you. Write out the things you feel, the things you see in the Spirit, the Scriptures He is pointing to, the words He says directly to you.

2) Read Isaiah 58:1-14, AMPC. How does God’s idea of “fasting” differ from your view or that of the religion you adhere to? Does anything here surprise you? Anything you need to ask God to help you with?

3) “Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am…’” (Isaiah 58:9a). This passage suggests that when we call upon God, we will often cry in tandem. Does this passage say this is repulsive to God, or does He welcome it?

The result of us calling and crying (an emotional thing) to God is that He answers—Here I am. God welcomes (and soothes) our emotions.

4) In the line that follows, there is an act of obedience He is looking for (…If you take away yokes of oppression… v. 9). How might you let people off the hook in your world and forgive them with the forgiveness of Christ? Or, how might you stand with them and ask others to forgive them? How might you improve your speaking to infuse it with the hope, joy, mercy, compassion—the emotion, of God? How might you make a peaceful and steady way for God’s Word, Work, and Justice to enter the problem you are facing?

5) Can you think of one example blanket statement that, once you studied it out in the Word of God, took on a different meaning for you? Our example today is, “Emotions are the believer’s enemy.” While emotions running contrary to the Word of God can definitely get believers in a lot of trouble, so can shutting off emotions entirely. The point is: 1) we need to study the Word of God for ourselves and really think through our beliefs; and 2) God wants us to come to Him ourselves—we cannot always rely on pastors or Christian ministers/speakers, solely. In fact, most sermons are just an introduction. We, as ministers of the Word of God, compel you to study the Word of God for yourselves. God will ensure you have no props because He wants to speak with you directly.

6) First Corinthians 2:16, AMPC says, “For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.” Jot down what the mind of Christ must be like. Is it full of hope or is it depressed? What types of thoughts and feelings do you believe Jesus has and has given us?

7) Ask the Lord, in Jesus’ Name, to bring your thoughts, feelings, and purposes—your whole mind, heart and soul—into alignment with Christ.

REFERENCES:

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.

King James Version (KJV), Public domain.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

DAWN DYSON