I’ve Got A Feeling!
Have you ever felt like God was speaking to you, made a decision and then realized it was a mistake? If you haven’t, then you are probably perfect and don’t need to read any further. But, for those of us who have allowed a feeling to be mistaken for the Word of God, this post may help you.
Over the years, I have encountered so many people who allow their feelings to control their decisions. Don’t worry; you are not one of them. They get a quiver in their liver and so they make changes claiming God spoke to them. They feel a desire to be with the opposite sex, so they act on that feeling claiming that if it wasn’t God then they wouldn’t have felt that way. They get a feeling that they should stop serving, therefore they disregard wise counsel and end up disconnecting from the Body of Christ.
This has always been a tough one for me. I am in no way a robotic guy. I have emotions. I have cried during movies like Blindside or the Help. I might have even shed a tear during an episode of American Idol or Teen Mom…neither of which can I confirm nor deny…just don’t ask Sara. When something tugs at my heart strings, I may react; however my emotions are not a big part of my daily life. I don’t wake up in the morning feeling depressed and carry a box of tissues around with me at work. I don’t allow my emotions, most of the time, to dictate how I act or what I “hear†from God. So when I hear people say that their emotions impact how they hear God, it has always been a tough pill for me to swallow.
It is tough for me to accept because of how many people have abused the name of God, and will of God, because of their emotions. Many people claim that God has spoken because they “feel†Him or they say that God is moving because they can “feel†it. There have been many times when I have heard people walk away from a worship experience and they “felt†God, but I have often wondered if it was just the bass kicking through their body, the rhythmic sounds of the band, or the powerful words of a preacher that they were “feelingâ€.
So what does God’s Word say? Matthew 22:37 states, “And He (Jesus) said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.â€Â This is a pretty popular verse. It is known as the Great Commandment and many churches use it as part of their mission statement.
The word “soul†in the Greek is “psyche†which translated means “the seat of the feelings, desires, affections.â€Â Therefore, God tells us that we are to love him with all of our feelings. He doesn’t say to remove your feelings or that your emotions don’t play a part in Him speaking. In fact, it says that our emotions are a vital part of our relationship with God. If we are to truly love God with everything, then we must love Him with our emotions.
This is tough for some that I know. Expressing emotion is a difficult thing and I would encourage/challenge these individuals that they must learn how to engage their emotions in order to fully love God. If we are commanded to love God “with all your soulâ€, then we are to love Him with all our emotions.
However, this is not an excuse to allow our emotions to manipulate God’s Word to us. God can speak to you through your emotions, but be cautious that your emotions don’t speak to you about God. Much like the promptings of the Spirit post, whenever you get a feeling that God may be speaking to you, test it (1 John 4:1) against God’s Word and wise counsel. If it passes the test, then proceed knowing God spoke, if not, disregard the emotion and stand on what you know is truth…God’s Word.
February 2nd, 2012 at 3:16 am
Hey Ernesto,
I really love this because this is something that I have a difficult time with. I have made a few decisions out of emotion in my life and they have had some negative repercussions.
Here at Moody, people are constantly asking if music that pulls a certain emotion out of someone is OK for worship. I was wondering what your thoughts on that are.
Holla, BK
February 2nd, 2012 at 3:21 am
It occurred to me that perhaps I should give you an example of what I am talking about.
Some professors here feel that contemporary worship music, such as the music of Jesus Culture or The Desperation Band, manipulate people into feeling a certain way. So then people take that “feeling” and equate it to an experience with God.
thoughts?
February 2nd, 2012 at 3:36 am
Great question Brandon. I thought someone would actually ask that question whether on here or by e-mail. Here are my thoughts. Emotions, many times, play into everything that we do and people gear environments to help create the right emotions, so that people will respond a certain way. This is why movie theaters turn down the lights, so that there will be no distractions and you will feel like you are in the movie. This is why a coffee house has light music playing in the background so that you will feel a since of home and want to stay a while and buy a few cups of coffee. 🙂 This is why most churches play fast or slow songs during certain times within the message. Pastor Steven Furtick did a message one time about this very thing and it was brilliant. I think that there are people, groups, bands, or churches who can go overboard and their manipulation falls outside of God’s will and leading. However, I think that if a person, group, band or church doesn’t recognize that people have feelings and they respond based on those, then they may not see God’s best results. Look at Jesus, when the people were hungry, he didn’t say “suppress your emotions. I know you are hungry and that is a real need, but you can go without food for at least 40 days…look at me. You are just feeling hungry and right now we just need to disregard those feelings and study God’s Word together.” He fed them, knowing that their feeling of hunger would go away and they would be in a better place to listen. I could come up with a bunch of biblical examples to speak to this same point. So, all in all…I would say yes it is okay but it can be a very fine line to walk. Trust me, as a speaker, it is difficult, but we must walk carefully and faithfully. What do you think?
February 3rd, 2012 at 8:23 pm
My thoughts would probably be in line with yours. I don’t like the idea of disconnecting our emotions from the worship of God. If leading people in an emotional response through music or speaking or film or what have you, leads to a true encounter with Jesus, then I am all for it. However I also believe that people can use those same emotions for their own ends, such as trying to cling to church attendance or as a way to bring in more money.
But, like you said, it is a fine line.
Thanks for your response.