Live beyond feelings

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:3)

We might not 'feel' like we have what it takes to live godly lives, make right choices, and be at peace with ourselves, much less others. Those feelings can be overwhelming at times, almost stifling any forward movement we desire to make in our spiritual lives. Truth be told, we sometimes need to engage in a little 'self-talk' to tell our feelings to take a hike! If we relied upon how we 'felt' everyday, many of us would never make it out of bed! God has given us everything - not just some of the stuff, but all of whatever it is we need in order to live godly lives. If we can just remind ourselves of this whenever we feel like we cannot put one foot in front of the other, feeling like every decision to live according to his principles is just 'too difficult', we might just get beyond those feelings a little quicker. Why do you suppose God told us to get scripture into our hearts and minds? He knew we'd need it to counter the 'feelings' that lead us down a contrary path on occasion.

All we need for godly living - received by entering into his family, bolstered within his family, and shared because we are in family. As we come to know him, we get placed within the family of God. We no longer walk alone, but according to the grace of God dwelling within us. How do we come to 'know' anyone on this earth? Isn't it because we spend time with them? If we spend only a meager amount of time with Jesus each day, do we think we will have a deep and lasting relationship with him? If we spend very little time with his family of believers, who will we 'do life' with instead? God gives us all we need and that includes the determination of heart and mind to live beyond our feelings. If you ever went to work on a day when you just didn't 'feel like it', you chose something other than what you were feeling and acted upon that choice instead. Sometimes we have to act 'beyond' or 'above' those feelings we have of not being able to walk this Christ-filled life. Yes, we made mistakes and we blundered, but those feelings of guilt or shame don't have control over us - God's grace does.

Living beyond our feelings begins when we remind ourselves that his grace and power is greater than our 'feelings'. By his divine power might just become the most important words within this passage for some of us. We don't take our next steps without his divine power. We don't overcome our lackluster feelings or doldrums by any other means than his divine power. Don't know what the doldrums are? It is the state of inactivity - of stagnation - that can hold us back and keep us from entering into what God intends for each of us. If that is where you find yourself from time to time, take heart - God has given you his divine power to move beyond the stagnancy of heart that has kept you mired down. We just need to allow his power to begin to 'talk over' the voice of our 'feelings'. Just sayin!

Sweeter Fruit

Who has a harder fight than he who is striving to overcome himself. (Thomas a Kempis)

We are not alone in this challenge to overcome things within ourselves that we don't like, we know others don't like, and we are darn tootin sure God isn't very pleased with either. Since the beginning of man's walk on this earth, there have been times when bad decisions led down bad paths, and those paths led to even worse outcomes. In the end, mankind has found themselves 'trying' to clean up the mess they have made of their lives, but coming up woefully short. As a believer in Christ Jesus, we don't have to 'try' any longer. We can begin to see real and lasting change because we are no longer controlled by the pull of those bad choices - we have been given the Holy Spirit within to help us when our decisions are not going to lead to good outcomes.

But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; and here there is no conflict with Jewish laws. (Galatians 5:22-23)

But when... The moment we ask for help, we are admitting to the end of our striving. It is those 'but when' moments that determine the course for real change to occur. Those honest prayers, admitting how helpless we have been in overcoming our worst struggles are the moments when the 'road out' begins to open up before us. Some believe the 'road out' is just the 'road back', but I think God opens up new roads for us, so we don't have to retrace our bad steps one by one. Yes, he will ask us to reflect on how we got to where we are today, but not because he wants to shame us. He wants us to begin to recognize how differently our decisions are made when we allow the Holy Spirit to take the controls of our lives.

"Trying" is good - but it rarely accomplishes the development of the good traits we want to see replace the 'not so good' ones we have been habitually following. We need the Holy Spirit's presence, power, and persistence to help us where we lack the power or persistence on our own. We might 'desire' to make right decisions, but we all know what it is like to attempt to change a habit on our own. Our 'will-power' is just not enough. When we have the 'God-power' that comes when we give the Holy Spirit the controls of our lives, we stop relying on our own abilities. The fruit produced when God is at the controls is so much sweeter than us just 'trying' to yield better fruit through all that self-effort! Just sayin!