Obedience first - feelings last

“Fools die because they refuse to follow wisdom. They are content to follow their foolish ways, and that will destroy them. But those who listen to me will live in safety and comfort. They will have nothing to fear.” (Proverbs 1:32-33)

The old song, "Fools rush in", admits that some can be so blinded by something or someone, all reasonable thought flies out the door. One of the lines in the song actually says, "Though I see the danger there, if there's a chance for me, then I don't care..." It goes without saying that we rush into danger more times than not simply because we failed to exercise wisdom in those moments. How can we get to the place where we 'don't rush in'? We learn to listen to God's voice!

God-given wisdom far exceeds human wisdom, but somehow, we think it is okay to just trudge right on into those moments we will come to regret later on. We refuse to listen to his wisdom and find ourselves treading on thin ice. Another line from that same song reminds us, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread..." If God's angels wouldn't even go there, why do we think it is okay to plunge right in? Our selfish and sinful minds can convince us of a great many follies being 'okay' at the moment, but if we were to admit it, we heard a 'warning' in our thoughts that we chose not to heed.

That 'warning' is God's Spirit trying to show us the right choice to make, but God doesn't 'hold us back' from following our own folly. We must exercise the restraint and count on God to give us that 'extra boost' we need in those areas of our lives where our own strength is rather weak. Emotions can carry us down some awkward paths, hard to navigate and even harder to escape. Relying upon our 'feelings' actually is like the 'fool that rushes in' mentality. We cannot count on our feelings to keep us safe - because we can justify every feeling, right or wrong!

Fools rush in - the wise listen for God's leading. One takes steps without thinking. The other counts on God to help sort out the good thoughts from the bad ones. One counts on what 'feels right', while the other trusts God's direction to be the best path, even when emotions don't quite 'match' what he is asking us to do. Know this: God's direction may contradict our feelings more times than not. To wait for our feelings to catch up to his direction is not the best plan. Sometimes we just need to put aside our feelings and do what we know he is directing us to do. Feelings follow obedient steps, my friends. Just sayin!