But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. (2 Corinthians 4:7-10)
Emotions — they surface at the strangest times. All of us have them. There is no use in denying that fact. Indeed, we are all emotional. And try as we might, unlike Mr. Spock of Star Trek fame, there are many times when we simply can’t control our emotions. There are times when our feelings take charge and afterward we are left with regret.
We have feelings because God created us that way. He created us in His image. Did you know that God has feelings? He does. In Deuteronomy 32:21, God is speaking of His relationship to Israel. He says, "They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities." God has feelings too. There are times when He is made angry and feels jealous. There are also times when He feels compassion and love. Matthew 9:36 speaks of Jesus love when it says, "but when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd."
God has feelings. He has emotions and so do we, because we were created in His image. We experience joy, excitement, compassion, love, anticipation, loneliness, fear, confusion, sadness, despair, anger, and even hatred. We can be both mad and glad. We are emotional beings.
The real question we must ask ourselves is: "How do we deal with our feelings?" Dealing with feeling is sometimes more difficult than we anticipate. You see, our feelings do not always cooperate. And sometimes our feelings are all out of whack.
The reason, of course, that our feelings give us so much trouble is that they became distorted when mankind rebelled against God. The Bible teaches that the original human beings, Adam and Eve, chose to disobey God in the Garden of Eden. This rebellion is known as the Fall. By choosing to rebel against God, the parents of the human race fell from God’s grace. It was at this time that sin entered the human race and corrupted it. The Bible teaches that all of creation was affected by the Fall. In man, the image of God was distorted. While God’s feelings and emotions reflect His perfection, our feelings and emotions reflect our imperfection. Indeed, sin has distorted our feelings to the point where they become a problem at times. So dealing with feeling can be difficult.
Are there feelings you have that give you trouble? Perhaps they are feelings about another person. Perhaps they are feelings about a situation at work. Perhaps they are feelings about God. Perhaps they are feelings about yourself. They could be feelings of anger, doubt, resentment, discouragement, rejection, confusion, self-loathing, unforgiveness, or even hatred. How do you deal with those kind of feelings? Does the Bible have anything to say about this subject? Is there anything that we, as Christians, can do? Yes. I believe that there are several important things we can do.
We can see from this passage of Scripture in 2 Corinthians 4 that it is possible to be under pressure in adverse circumstances and still be able to deal with our feelings. Paul talks about being afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. In the midst of even the most trying of times, though he felt extremely perplexed, he was able to pull up short of despairing. In other words, even though he did not understand always what God was doing, he was able to hold his feelings in check and not be side-tracked by them. There are several important things we can learn from Paul and other biblical characters about dealing with feeling.
The first thing we can learn is that feelings are feelings. This may sound strange. What I mean is that feelings are not necessarily reality. That does not mean that feelings are not real. They are indeed! But our feelings might not be an accurate reflection of how things really are. Therefore, we must recognize them for what they are and what they are not.
We must also understand that how we feel is how we feel. We should not deny how we feel and simply try to suppress those feelings. How we feel is how we feel and those feelings will eventually surface. And when they surface they can surface in very destructive ways. So don’t deny your feelings. Now, this does not mean you have to tell everyone how you feel. That is certainly not wise. But you need to acknowledge those feelings and recognize that they are indeed yours.
The next thing we can do is be honest with God about our feelings. God certainly knows how we feel. And God can handle how we feel. Even when we are angry with God, He can handle it. Unlike us, God is not easily offended. He does not wear His feelings on His sleeve, so to speak. He loves us even when we are angry at Him. He loves us, even when we are misunderstanding His purpose for us. He loves us, even when we are confused and frustrated. So, we must not only acknowledge our feelings to ourselves, we must also acknowledge our feelings to God.
King David, a man after God’s own heart, is a good example of someone who told God just how he felt. In the Psalms we see the full panorama of feelings expressed. There were certainly times when David was rejoicing in the Lord and expressed his praise. But there were also times when he was in despair and confusion. He exclaimed in Psalm 42:5: "Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me?" There were also times when he was feeling the crushing guilt of his own sin. In Psalm 31:9-10 we read: "Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body also. For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength has failed because of my iniquity, and my body has wasted away." There were also times when David was angry with his enemies and called God’s wrath down upon them. Listen to what he says in Psalm 35:26: "Let those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress; let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me." Again, in Psalm 58:6,8 we read: "O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; . . . Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along." It should be obvious that David did not hesitate to tell God how he honestly felt.
Your feelings are how you feel and they are very real to you. Just as it sometimes helps to verbalize your feelings to others, it also helps to verbalize your feelings to God. In fact, that is an essential step in sorting out your feelings.
Another thing we can do is to accept the fact that sometimes we must all struggle with our feelings. It is not a sin to struggle with your feelings. It is not a sin to be confused. It is not a sin to feel rejected. It is not a sin to be bound. And it is not a sin to struggle with how we feel. In fact, the sin may be in refusing to struggle with how we feel. The sin may be when we refuse to confront those feelings and to seek to do something about those feelings. You see, when we resign ourselves to feeling a certain way, we accept defeat. The reason why Paul could say that he was perplexed, but not despairing was that he refused to allow his feelings to turn him away from his hope in God. He might not understand what God was doing but he did know that God was doing something. And he refused to despair before he got the answers.
When we struggle with our feelings, if we remain open to God and do not despair, God will lead us through that struggle to an answer. Through the struggle He is doing something in our lives. We hate the struggle as much as the ground, if it had feelings, would hate the plow. Like the ground, however, there are times when our lives must be broken up to receive from God.
The key is to understand that God is ultimately in charge. Sometimes that is easier said than done, especially when we don’t even believe that He is listening to us. But that is the foundation point. Knowing that God has a purpose that He is working out in my life helps me to make sense of the struggle. Paul saw that we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not of ourselves. In other words, Paul was saying that God is at work. He is at work in our lives to reveal His power, even in our weakness. When we don’t understand all that God is doing, we can trust that He is still at work. It is not up to us to understand everything or even to have all the answers. We can trust God to do His work however we may feel.
What do we do when we have acknowledged our feelings, been honest with God about them, and accepted the fact that we often need to struggle with our feelings in order to find the answers? There is still one important thing to do.
In order to deal with our feelings, we must focus on the facts concerning God, our relationship to Him, and His plan for our lives. You see, our feelings may not be the result of focusing on the facts. Our feelings may be the result of focusing on a lie. Our feelings may be the result of the deception of Satan. Our feelings may be the result of the weakness of our own flesh. Our feelings may be the result of focusing on external circumstances.
In order to deal with our feelings, we must focus on what is the truth rather than simply what is true. You see, there is a difference between the truth and the true. And when we add all the true together, it may equal a lie.
An example of this difference can be found in the account of the spies that were sent into Canaan to gather information on that land. When the children of Israel crossed the wilderness they prepared to enter Canaan and conquer the land. God had told them that they would be successful. They selected twelve men to serve as a reconnaissance team to determine the lay of the land, where the important cities were, and determine their fortifications. When this team returned, the majority had been so overwhelmed by the apparent might of their enemies that they brought a negative report concerning the prospects of victory. Ten of the twelve said they should not attempt to defeat the inhabitants because their cities were large and fortified and their warriors were men of great size. In fact, they said that after they saw these large men that they "became like grasshoppers in [their] own sight." Only Caleb and Joshua were willing to take God at His word. They encouraged the people to go in and take possession of the land.
Here is the difference between what is true and what is the truth. It was true that the cities were large and fortified. It was true that the inhabitants were men of great size. In fact, the description of the land was accurate. It was true. But it was not the truth. The truth was that Israel could conquer this mighty people. They could do it because God had said they could. It looked impossible. The majority certainly felt like it was impossible. But their feelings were the result of their perception of the true instead of their reliance on the truth.
So we must focus on the truth about God — that He a loving God, a powerful God, a sovereign God, a God who is working out His plan in our lives. We must focus on the truth about ourselves — that we are important to God, that we matter to Him, that our feelings may not be reliable. As we focus on the truth found in His Word, we may find that our feelings begin to reflect a renewed faith in Him.
Jesus said, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
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