Feelings are Fickle and Aren’t Reliable for Good Decisions
God’s perfect will for your life is for you to base your life (to include your actions and decisions) on faith, not feelings because feelings are fickle. For instance, yesterday you might have felt like starting this day at 6:00 a.m., but at 6:00 a.m. you felt like sleeping for another hour. How many times have you felt that volunteering for a certain task was a fantastic idea, but later you felt like it was a terrible idea? Not wanting you to be wishy-washy, God wants you to seek His Wisdom and have faith that He will not lead you astray.
…The righteous shall live by faith. – Romans 1:17
Notice that this scripture does NOT indicate that you should live by feelings. You should live by faith because feelings are fickle.
Feelings Are Not Bad
Feelings are just a part of being human. Even Jesus expressed much emotion when He lived on earth as a man. It’s only when you make choices based on your feelings, rather than God’s Word when you step out of God’s perfect plan.
God loves you more than you can imagine, and He has given you the seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Experiencing an emotion that is contrary to the fruits of the spirit, should not cause you to ignore it. Face that negative emotion head-on, and ask God to help you overcome it. Ask God to help you base your actions and decisions on your faith in Him, NOT that negative emotion.
Feelings Aren’t Reliable for Good Decisions
Have you ever burst out hateful words in anger? Regrettably, I’ve been there and done that, and it left me wishing I would’ve kept my mouth shut because of the damage created.
…the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. – 1 John 1:20
Knowing that responding out of anger isn’t godly is a good step, but actually applying it to everyday life is the best step.
What should you do instead of responding in anger or some other negative emotion? You can find the answer in James 1:19.
…let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger…
Be Quick to Hear
First, be quick to hear by considering what you just heard and examine whether or not you are interpreting it correctly. Not knowing the whole story could cause you to respond in error, so don’t just make your own assumptions. Is your offender thrashing out at you from her own hurt from something unrelated to you? If you knew she just buried a loved one, would you have more compassion? Aside from the people closest to you, you probably have no idea of their struggles. Regarding people you know well, you still don’t know everything. Only God knows everything!
Be Slow to Speak
Secondly, be slow to speak which is immensely important. Especially if you are already angry, walk away from the situation. Exercise self-discipline because an immediate response to someone or something is almost always unnecessary. This is an excellent time to pray and invite God into the situation. He desires to give you wisdom and strength to respond in a godly way, but He needs you to ask Him!
Be Slow to Anger
The more experience you have with quickly hearing and choosing your words carefully, the easier it will be for you to slow your anger. By being quick to hear, you will attain more facts regarding the situation. This skill will help you focus more on facts rather than your fickle feelings.
Focus on the facts not feelings, because feelings are fickle!
Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. – Proverbs 16:32