Have you ever asked God to make you feel what He feels? Think about it, He is an infinite being with an infinite capacity to feel, just like He has an infinite strength and knowledge. Therefore, asking Him to help you feel what He feels should be an intimidating prayer.
So much of our decisions are affected [for better or worse] by how we feel in the moment. Know, I know that I am a guy and I am supposed to be anti-feeling and pro-logic, and…. That is true. I certainly lean towards logic over my emotions, but only a fool acts like he doesn’t feel.
In fact, if you cannot recognize your feelings and the fact that they have a drastic effect on our decisionmaking, it can be a sign of emotional immaturity. That ultimately means that though you think you are in control of your life, you are actually at the mercy of how you feel in any given moment.
To gain back that control, the healthiest thing you can do is to ask God to feel what He feels. Rather than fight the urge to make decisions counter to our emotions, why not give our feelings over to a Holy God who can motivate us rightly. This is the way that we are made and how we are intended to operate.
Now, a word of warning:
- This only works if we are confident that God is allowing us to feel what He feels
- He will never lead us into sin through our emotions
- Emotions used rightly supplement logic. They are not meant to overwhelm logic
- If you are new to this, learn to feel what God feels through compassion FIRST
- This is an act of sacrifice, not an excuse to allow your emotions to take over
- Feeling what God feels will always make you less important and make Him more important
Read through 1 Corintians 2, the whole chapter, and look at how Paul encourages us to take on the mind of Christ. This means our logic and our emotions. Submit yourself to His word, and think of your church as you read and pray through this passage.
Jason Hundley 