Friendly Feelings

I was chilled, so I ran the water for a nice warm bath. And while the tub was filling, I made a quick trip down to the basement, in my bare feet, to start a load of laundry. Needless to say, by the time I put my feet into the warm water, my feet were quite cold. Cold feet plus warm water equals "ouwww!"

Experience has taught me a thing or two. Had I responded to what my feet felt, I would have immediately turned on the cold water . and although my feet would have been comfortable, within a few minutes I would have been cold, sitting in that water.

My feet "felt" that the water was too hot because my feet were cold.

And this is the problem, if you want to call it that, with feelings. I personally don't believe that feelings are bad-we just don't know how to read them. Consider, for instance, if you were to go to Australia and hear that it was twenty degrees outside. You'd probably bundle up in the warmest clothes that you had, and find yourself looking foolish indeed when you stepped outside into the pleasant temperatures. The real problem with feelings isn't that they exist, it is that we don't know how to interpret them.

Let me give you a few examples.

A few things go wrong, and I find myself feeling like God doesn't love me and He doesn't care. On the surface, we could say, "Hey, your feelings are lying to you! Don't believe it!" It would be true that "God doesn't love me" is a lie, but my feelings are telling me something I very definitely need to know. My feelings are telling me that I haven't spent enough time in God's presence lately. If I never had negative feelings from not spending time with the Lord, it is entirely possible I would never spend time with Him.

Ever have someone walk into a room, and find yourself fighting off negative feelings toward that person? There may be nothing at all wrong with that person, but your feelings are alerting you that there is a problem. Maybe you've been spending too much time together, and need more space. Maybe that person has sinned against you, and you've never brought it to their attention, so that they can repent. Maybe you've had unrealistic expectations of them, and their humanity has offended you. Any or all of these things could be true . and if you didn't have feelings, you would never know.

I am not so sure we need to learn to control our feelings-I'm not so sure that's even possible. We certainly don't need to condemn them, and God help us if we try to squash them. But one thing I do know: the better I become at interpreting my feelings properly, the more quickly I can recognize problems, take them to the Lord, and resolve issues.

Feelings can be a very good friend.

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