More Than a Feeling

“We have also a more sure word of prophecy.” (2 Peter 1:19)

So many times over the years, I've heard people share how they made a major decision in their life, and said; "I prayed a lot and I have a peace about it."

A few years ago I made a life-changing decision to enroll in a local college and get an associate degree in family counseling. I prayed a lot about it, and consulted with my most trusted friends and even three of my mentors. I seemed to be getting nothing but green lights, so I declared I was going to do it because "I had peace about it."

After only a week into my classes, one of my advisors asked to meet with me. He said that I would have a very difficult, if not impossible time trying to find a paying job anywhere, with only a two year associate degree in this field.

I was crushed. I prayed..."But God, You gave me peace about this! And so many good people confirmed this was the right move to make. I even had scripture to back up my decision."

After much soul searching and prayer, I decided to leave the college and annul my enrollment. I still had time to cancel my student loan, get my deposit back, and return most of my books.

My wife was not happy. She said, "But you were so sure that this was what you believed God had called you to do!"

It seemed that everyone was unhappy with me. But I felt an enormous sense of relief. I truly believed (and still do) that God gave my college advisor a word of wisdom that saved me two years of my life, and over $20,000 in student loan debt, which I probably would not have been able to repay.

So what's the point?

Walking with God is immensely practical. Or should be.

So many people, including me, make crucial decisions based on what amounts to not much more than "a feeling." An inner "peace."

But I can tell you from many years of frustration and disappointment; feelings can be mighty fickle. We're very good at justifying something to ourselves if we really want it.

The Bible states:

"This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic." (James 3:15)

The world teaches you to "Follow your heart."  But God's Word teaches you to let your regenerated mind lead your heart. Big difference. The heart wants what the heart wants. But the mind that has wisdom will throw up objections and question whatever path the heart desires to take.

There is an endless amount of Godly wisdom in the Bible—"a more sure word of prophecy."

Here the writer of Proverbs speaks of the perils of adultery:

"My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
Lend your ear to my understanding,
That you may preserve discretion,
And your lips may keep knowledge.
For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey,
And her mouth is smoother than oil;
But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death,
Her steps lay hold of hell.
Lest you ponder her path of life—
Her ways are unstable;
You do not know them.”

(Proverbs 5:1-6)

Oh....that we would heed the Word of the Lord and not trust just in our "feelings." We would be spared years of pain, heartache and destruction.

What happens so often, is we make a decision based on how we feel, and then we ask God to go along with it. We want His stamp of approval on something that He never actually authorized.

Or we make a rash decision because we have only two options, neither of which are great choices. Then we ask God to change our new situation into something more workable. But in truth, we should never have made the rash decision to begin with. We're just too darn impatient. You can't give God what's behind Door #1 and Door #2 and then tell Him to choose.

It doesn't work that way.

God is not obligated to honor our poor choices or bless our rash decisions.

The Bible primarily teaches us to get wisdom, not seek a peaceful "feeling."

“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.” (Proverbs 4:7)

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

I Can Do All Things...

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”—Jesus 

Over the years I've heard people use the expression; "If it's meant to be, it's up to me"—which, all semantics aside, is simply another way of saying, 'If I am going to succeed, it's all up to me.'

Or, another very common saying is, "You can do anything you set your mind to."

But if you've lived for at least twenty or thirty years, you know in truth that this is simply not accurate. We've all failed, many times, in things that we set our minds to. We believed, we told ourselves; "you can do this!" But we fell short, and more times than not, if we're being honest.

Some think that through the power of positive thinking they can accomplish anything. And the proof in that pudding? Survey says; No, you can't.

A former client of mine once boasted; "I can heal my own body with my mind." But she had some form of cancer which did not heal. She simply wasn't living in reality.

I've heard a lot of people quote the bible verse that says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13) They put the emphasis on 'I CAN DO ALL THINGS...' and de-emphasize "Through Christ who strengthens me." A more accurate rendering of this verse would be, "I can do whatever Christ strengthens me to do."

The emphasis is always on Christ, not I CAN DO ALL THINGS.

And the verse at the beginning of this post—Jesus' own word's—proves this. He said:

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

That's pretty simple. Without Jesus we can do nothing.

We can't bear any good fruit, do any great works, or build anything lasting without His empowerment, wisdom and provision.

And mankind's many failures and blunders are the clear evidence of that.

Here's further proof that we are totally reliant on Him:

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15)

Today, June 12, is the five year anniversary of my brain seizure I had while on a business trip. I literally thought I was dying. I didn't know if I was having a stroke or an aneurysm. I didn't know if I would survive it. After multiple tests, an MRI, and a couple of hours in the Pocatello emergency room, I was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia, fondly referred to as the "sucicide disease." (Google it). To say that it has changed my life is an understatement. At it's worst, it was completely debilitating. I didn't think I would ever be able to work again. But only through Jesus Christ who strengthened me—have I been able to work and function again. All praise and glory to Him forever!

Yes, we have to be responsible and work and put effort into doing whatever has been set before us to yield good results. Anything less would be lazy and irresponsible. But we are not the captain of our own salvation. If it's meant to be it's not up to me. You can believe the mantras of the world and think that you can do anything that you set your mind to. Or you can believe Jesus who said without Him you can do nothing.

I choose to believe Jesus every time. 

I have failed many, many times in my life and will fail again. But God has never failed me whenever I take Him at His word. And He has proven Himself faithful time, after time, after time.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.