Many questions have been asked by those who think I am promoting a feeling-less life with these last few entries. Let me be clear, I am not speaking of living life void of feelings and emotions. Both our feelings and emotions are wonderful gifts from God! They bring color and richness to our lives the way nothing else can.
Feelings and emotions are not the problem, what we do with them is the problem. We tend to allow our feelings and emotions to dictate the course of our lives, and we rely on them to make major life decisions for us. We place our feelings in a place of pre-eminence and lordship that subjugates everything else to them.
This is backwards from God’s holy order. God is to be pre-eminent and He is Lord. His order is that our feelings and emotions be subject to the authority of the Word and that they be filtered through the Holy Spirit.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. John 14:26
His job is to be our divine helper and our Counselor. He will guide us into right thinking and renew our minds from ones that operate on a feeling level to a mind that thinks, believes and desires to glorify God in all respects. A desire to glorify God is in and of itself an act of worship, it is placing Him where He rightfully belongs in our lives- at the forefront.
“…true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24
Notice the Bible does not say to worship Him in your feelings. The Spirit, not emotions is to guide us in both truth and worship of God.
So, how actually does a person submit those emotions and feelings to the Holy Spirit? Well, there is no 3-step process, no magic formula to doing so. It is a matter of faith and belief. The same Spirit who has brought you to saving faith in Jesus Christ will help you to believe that He can be trusted more than your feelings. God is faithful!