God Is Greater Than Our Feelings

        Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

                                                       1 John 3:20

 

      This a testimony of what God has done in my life lately. As a chronic thinker, my mind goes endlessly thinking of the most possible dramatic and exaggerated scenarios that could happen. I overthink things too to the point that I think two steps ahead from the simple and ordinary. You can call me a pessimist because the moment I turn on the invisible button in my brain and start thinking negatively, some unlikely bad feeling started to boil up inside of me which will result to unlikely response towards others and even to myself.

      I’ve been feeling burdened lately as if there’s a dagger in my heart and some grayish cloud above my head. It started when I discovered something unpleasant. No need to  elaborate it anymore because this has been settled. And I have lifted it up in prayer. I am confident God is at work now. I wasn’t ready to hear and see something bad I guess, because when it came last week, I was caught off guard and started to worry about it. My mind would think hurtful and stressing thoughts to the point that I’m feeling the hurt physically. My heart would beat faster each time I think of that unlikely scenario. Pastor Charles Stanley was right, all the bad memories we have in the past is just there, lingering in our mind. In a snap of a finger, these memories flashes back in our minds and we are not fully healed, we will always get hurt resulting to a downcast response towards things and people.  We cannot remove it overnight. Only Jesus can deliver us from these destructive, enslaving, condemning thoughts. Only Jesus can erase those bad memories that haunt us every night.

       Just this morning, I listened to Pastor Charles Stanley’s sermon in Podcast entitled “Control Your Thoughts” Pastor Stanley emphasized the power of our minds. The mind is the control tower of our lives. Our thoughts control us and we respond to the way we think. Looking back, I realized that a sudden change in my attitude (I became irritable, fearful, doubtful and “praning”) was the result of the negative thoughts wandering in my mind. I let these negative thoughts control my actions. This bothered me so much that the first thing I did is bend my knees on prayer asking for God’s grace and mercy to deliver me from the burden and pain I’ve been experiencing for a week. I cannot let this situation last for another week, I told the Lord. I don’t want to be anxious or stress by the bad thoughts I’ve seeing in my head because this is not good for my health. God saw my burden. Once again, He let his grace reign over me. Each day, I feel that the Holy Spirit is at work in my heart, mind and body. I can feel the healing, the relief and the peace that little by little out shadowed the darkness caused by sin and negative thoughts. I asked my friend to pray for me, especially that I’m feeling sick at the same time. The prayer of a righteous man and woman is powerful. And I’m blessed to have friends who are made right in the eyes of God, not by their deeds but by the grace of God. I soaked myself in prayer, many times a day. I rebuke the bad feelings and thoughts each time it crept up inside me. These negativities are the works of the devil to bring me down and side tracked me. Especially now, because the Lord has granted me a big break on my career wherein excellence and success is a sure thing. And Satan is not happy about this so he commanded a legion of evil spirits to do their best to bring me down. But I am victorious in Christ Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross to pay the price of my sins and when I believe and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior putting all my trust, hope and faith in Him---that’s when I gain my victory in Christ. The power of the cross and what Jesus has done are something else that I could brag about in my life. 

       Moving on, the burden in my heart is fading away like a snow melting under the heat of the sun. This the part where I can confirm over and over again that prayer works anytime, anywhere. God listens to our prayers. He doesn’t need an eloquent speech type of a prayer. Just say what you want to say and how you feel about it to the God who created the universe and you. Believe me He is powerful enough to change your heart & character, another person’s heart and character and the very situation you are into. God wants you to give all your cares to Him for He cares for you. Don’t think of yourself as anyone of a lesser value because Christ died for you. God said in Isaiah 43:4, “You are precious to me. You are honored and I love you.” What a comfort! That the Maker of this world and all that we see around us, would say “I love you” to you. This is grace. This is unmerited favor. We cannot gain God’s love and favor, He willingly give it to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. The choice is yours to accept Jesus or reject Him in your life.

      Now I’m free. I am healed and I am feeling better than the day before. Praise be to God who fix my heart and renew my mind. I learn to lay it all down at the feet of Jesus all that concerns me from my work, family, relationship, finances and health to the people around me and the community I belong to. I learned that God is greater than our feelings. He is greater than my anxieties. He is greater than the fear of the unknown. He is greater even on the pangs of death and crucial suffering. To God be the glory and honor and power forever and ever!