Follow up on the Holy Spirit and Feelings The best source for understanding how the Holy Spirit actually works is … the Holy Spirit. Since the Spirit is the mover behind the Scriptures, then the Scriptures must be respected in our understanding of Himself. He will not do something that contradicts Himself or His revelation. Therefore, when we assign works to the Spirit that the Spirit Himself never acknowledges as legitimate, then we are out of line. We must be ever so careful. Herein lies the danger of allowing our feelings to take the lead and then attributing that to the Spirit. The Bible warns strongly against deceptions (cf. Col. 2:8; 2 Cor. 11:14), and we all know that our feelings are quite easily deceived. Yet, even in recognizing such warnings, it seems that we have a tough time avoiding the swinging pendulum. Here is an example of a pendulum-swinging type of response to this point (not a quote): “If you say that our feelings shouldn’t take the lead any, then you are against feelings and your religion must be a dead one.” This would be an example of a false dichotomy, and it doesn’t remotely touch what I’m dealing with. Saying that our feelings should not be what leads us in serving God is not the same as saying that feelings play no part in our service at all. Of course we are to recognize the importance of our feelings and emotions, but those feelings need to follow the recognition of truth for one simple reason: my feelings can easily justify over-riding the truth of something. How many have we known who, because of their feelings, have denied plain Bible teaching? That’s the danger I’m talking about, and we are all susceptible to it. Feelings are often happiness-based, not truth-based. What I mean by this is that we are easily trapped into thinking that what God really wants for us is our happiness. That is true on one level, of course, but the next step with our feelings is this: we get to decide what should make us happy because happiness, in our minds, is all about how we feel. Before long, God has become our genie who is just supposed to grant us our wishes and rubber-stamp our desires. If I am to know about God’s concept of joy and happiness, then I must first consult His word, not my feelings. Once I know His revealed will, then I can work to train my feelings to be in line with that (as opposed to the other way around). No, we should not deny the feelings, but we should see those feelings as subservient to God’s revealed will. Then, upon my submission to His will… I can have the peace that passes understanding when I turn all my anxieties over to Him (Phil. 4:6-7). I can have the joy deep down of knowing of my salvation as the outcome of my faith (1 Peter 1:8). I can claim the fruit of the Spirit as part of God’s promises because I have decided to live by the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-25). The feelings will follow the decision to follow the Lord, but the proper starting place for understanding God’s will, the Holy Spirit’s work, and the Lord’s way will always be what He Himself has given for that very purpose. His word is the standard for our feelings. It will never work if we switch that around.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 23:46:48 +0000
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