When I retired from the military 10 years ago, I had no idea the faith journey the Lord would take us on. Before retiring, I always had everything figured out, especially when it came to our finances. I knew where every dime was coming from and how every bill would be paid. I knew where my provision for living was, I trusted in my own abilities. That changed immediately after I retired. Gone was the absolute security of a full months pay check. We started into ministry and retirement $1000 a month in the hole. We had a little bit of savings stored up that was quickly depleted. My emotions where raw, I had no idea how we would survive. Five months into retirement I was ready to quit and find a job. It was in that moment the Lord showed me that He was my provider, that I could trust Him and have faith in who He said he was. He had brought me to the end of myself. In the blink of an eye, the deficit was removed. He showed me a valuable lesson about living by faith and not by emotion. Are you in a place today where you have a choice to make, a choice of faith vs emotions? I recommend you choose faith, it could change your perspective forever. Blessings Living by Faith Versus Living by Emotion TGIF Today God Is First NextGen by Charis Hillman Brown A sound mind makes for a robust body, but runaway emotions corrode the bones. -Proverbs 14:30 (MSG) We tend to live by emotion in our culture. Just do what feels right, seems to be the general norm. Many of our thoughts about right and wrong are based on our emotions, on what we perceive is right, or wrong. When someone hurts us, we stand on the perceived reality that they hurt our feelings. Sometimes we imply a motive behind others actions which causes us to wrongfully judge them instead of asking about their intentions. We fail to employ discernment to see if the wound had a deeper root from something from our own past or even theirs. And then, we often do not do the even deeper work to discover and let God restore and heal whats broken through the power of forgiveness. Faith, although a substance like emotion, is different from emotion. Faith comes as a response to Gods words that knows that what the Bible says is true. It is a response to situations which says, My God is in control. When we live by emotion, its like our faith hasnt fully taken root in our hearts. It hasnt yet extended to those situations that make us upset. Jesus described it in this way: The seed cast in the gravel - this is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it. -Matthew 13:20 Character is what we do when no one else is looking. Its also what we do in the midst of challenge. Do we bend and fold, or are we able to stand strong on the foundation of our faith? Living by faith ensures a firm foundation. Although it is natural to feel emotion, we should not make decisions based on our emotion. We should make them based on our faith. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. -Matthew 7:25 Let us be like the house on that firm foundation of faith, as we place our faith and trust in God with whatever difficulties come our way - no matter how we feel.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 13:50:31 +0000
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