I have good news for you: Righteousness is never based on your feelings. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but we need to admit we are carnal people (Romans 7:14). What do I mean?
To be carnal means to be motivated by the things of the flesh, such as passions and appetites. It’s basically the opposite of being spiritual. One definition says to be carnal is to be merely human. This is understandable but there’s a problem. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
This scripture is talking about BC (Before Christ). The problem is that we were all raised to live by how we feel. But we can’t continue to operate that way AC (After Christ) because feelings aren’t always accurate. Instead of leaning more on our own understanding and how we feel about a situation, we need to tap into the Holy Spirit, guided by the Word of God, to discern and respond correctly.
This requires training.
“For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:13-14).
When you think about the senses, you think about touch, sight, smell, taste, and hearing. The Bible says those who are of full age are those who learned to navigate their senses wisely. And remember “full age” isn’t necessarily a reference to chronological years, but maturity. This is why the “babes” are those who are unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness– God’s way of doing and being right.
But those who BY REASON OF USE, those who have fallen and gotten back up, those who have trained themselves in God’s Word with the help of the Holy Spirit, these are the ones with understanding.
If we look at this in the natural, you can see children learn by reason of use everyday. They experiment and grow, no matter how many times they fail along the way.
This principle is the same for spiritual things.
Hebrews 5:12 says, “You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you the basic things about God’s Word” (New Living). (ouch) This is sad but true. In other words, if we don’t learn these truths and principles and begin to renew our minds accordingly, we not only remain in the beginner (infant) stage permanently, but we also become perfect prey for the enemy.
It’s dangerous to always live by your how you feel (the flesh). As we’ve talked about recently, the result is roller-coaster Christianity and unnecessary condemnation.
The Bible says to be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace (Romans 8:6). One mentality separates us from God (makes us feel distant in our mind and emotions), while the other makes an effort to choose God’s Word over how you feel or think about a situation.
To choose correctly, WE NEED DISCERNMENT.
Even as born-again, children of God (viewed as the righteousness of God in Christ), the truth is if you always live by your feelings, trouble will always be waiting for you. The devil loves to play on your feelings. He knows he can slow you down or stop you altogether if he can get you to live by emotion.
But FAITH and FEELINGS are not the same thing.
God’s Word never changes. However, your feelings change constantly, depending on your circumstances (or lack of sleep or food or many other scenarios). So if your faith is in your feelings (which can and do change), then your faith will imitate your feelings by constantly changing as well. And that’s not good.
But if your faith is in God’s Word (which never changes), then your faith won’t waver either— regardless of your circumstances or your feelings.
It takes training but I encourage you to get on that treadmill of faith today. Practice choosing God’s Word over your emotions and watch your faith grow stronger and stronger.
