Tuesday, December 15, 2015

feelings are a bad ruler

And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and said, ‘It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.’
Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 1:25-26

Fear will keep us from knowing the joy of the promises of God fulfilled to us when it leads us to distrust and disobey God. The report from the twelve spies showed the beauty and provision awaiting Israel in Canaan. They only needed to trust God's Word and enter in. But the fear of giants and the numerous people who could oppose them tainted the report of the spies. It was the fear that the nation heard, not the truth of the good land that God was giving them. And so the nation used the feeling of the fear as a rationale to disobey God and rebel against His command.

Rationalizing with our feelings is very common path to sin. It is not wise to do so because feelings are in essence irrational. But we rely on them like they are the best tool. They are not tools, nor or feelings ever meant to be guides. Feelings are gauges at best, and a gauge does not ever fix a problem or drive a car. Gauges alert and inform us to take the best action and that's it.

Faith and the Word of God should lead me, and not my feelings. Feelings alone are a bad ruler. Trusting them will lead me to sin. But faith in God's Word will never fail me. 

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