Feelings are Reality

Introduction

We live in a world where people live in a bubble of sorts. The bubble is their feelings and ideas and presuppositions. The bubble is how we look at the world, but the bubble is not always accurate or true. How many of you have ever been stuck in a rut of sorts? Maybe you weren’t thinking clearly, maybe you were anxious or a little sad about something and you were stuck in the blues and felt as though you couldn’t get out. Everything seemed to not go your way and you were upset. You felt like the world was against you and there was no way out. Sometimes we feel this way and it can seem so true inside because our feelings are real in that we experience them, but did you know that our feelings are not reality? Think about that real quick. Have you been at a low point before and you’re doing something that you love doing yet it just feels a little bit different. Maybe you feel like you’re a failure or that things aren’t going your way or that your life is terrible, yet you’re doing something that typically brings you satisfaction and happiness. Are those feelings real? Sure, you’re experiencing them. Are they true, though? Are they your reality? Is everything in your life a lie or a failure? No. It might seem that way, but there’s more to the story that we have to look at and hold on to in order to maintain our sanity during tough times!

There are people in our world who feel as though they are perfectly fine without Jesus Christ. They think that they are fine, moral, good, upstanding citizens and that they don’t need “church” or Jesus to interfere with their already good life. Therefore they continue throughout their life and tell themselves that they are fine and that this world is all that there is and that the Christians are the ones who are confused. This person is having real feelings, but their feelings, based on God’s Word, are wrong. If you are living without Christ, you are on the highway to hell and that ought to scare the daylight out of you - not make you feel fine!

What is the lie here that the enemy would love to sell us? The enemy wants to make those of us who are Christians think as though we are a hopeless wreck that is impossible to be saved and redeemed. He wants to make us feel without hope so that we are useless. On the same line of thinking, he wants to make those who are not Christians feel as though they are perfectly fine without Christ. He wants us to buy into his lie rather than coming to a true understanding of reality. Do you see how our culture has bought into this hook, line, and sinker? Many people want to live their own truth and stay in their feelings rather than diving a little deeper into the reality of God’s Word and His world.

Tonight, we are going to look at our 4th false fruit and that is “Your Feelings are Reality.” While we have feelings and emotions, our hope is not bound up in what we feel or think, our hope is founded in God’s unchanging Word. God defines what is true and what is real - therefore, in the good and bad, we look to His Word.

Let’s read this evening out of Romans 8 and look at our hope in Christ and how that should impact our day to day living.

Romans 8:18–30 CSB

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. 23 Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 25 Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience. 26 In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

The Power of Feelings

Feelings are a good thing. After all, they are given to us by God. Have you ever been in a situation where you had something tragic happen to you and it impacts you for years and years? I once knew a person who was in great physical shape but they were terrified of water. This was a person who was fit, they could run, they could jump, they played sports but they were not a fan of water. Why was this the case? Because, at a young age, they had a traumatic experience with water and that fear gripped them whenever they thought about swimming in a body of water. This person hadn’t swam in a lake in years, but because of an experience many years before, they felt afraid to go any deeper than waist deep in the water. This is how our feelings work sometimes! We are wired this way to an extent. Whenever we attribute a good feeling to something, we want to do it. Whenever we attribute a bad feeling to something, we don’t want to do it. How can we “re-wire” ourselves? Psychology says that we do this by becoming our true self and finding our inner peace. Some Christians say that we achieve this by ignoring ourselves entirely. Who is right? Both are wrong to an extent. We know that feelings are powerful and we cannot disregard them entirely - instead we have to look at things as God does!

Feelings are important and they are powerful. In Romans 8, Paul does a great job of showing us the power of God and knowing that we belong to Him. In these verses, Paul reminds his audience as well as us that we have hope because we have been saved and because we await our heavenly home with patience. Even in difficult times, Paul encourages his fellow believers to understand that the Spirit is with them and speaks on their behalf. There are moments in life where we can relate with this. Moments where it seems like our prayers are hitting a brick wall and bouncing right back to us and that there is nothing positive going our way. In such moments, in our lowest of lows, we might feel helpless and powerless, but we know that even though our feelings might be this way, the reality of the situation is different. Our human feelings don’t always tell the full story. In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul speaks to this point

2 Corinthians 4:8–9 CSB

8 We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.

We might feel afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down but those things don’t get to define us as Christians! We know that we are held by our Heavenly Father. Even though we might experience difficulties in this life, those experiences aren’t the end of the story. There is much more to be told! Because feelings are powerful, how should we feel? This is a loaded question because everyone seems to have different opinions, experiences, preferences, and we all know that we think differently. This is a beautiful thing, but let’s seriously examine: how should we feel about our feelings? The Bible gives us several references to consider

Ephesians 4:26 CSB

26 Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger,

We see in this verse that it is possible to be angry and not sin. If you feel angry, it’s not a sin in and of itself. In fact, if you told yourself that it’s always bad to be angry then you’d be a little confused because there are some things that should genuinely make us angry. Whenever we are stuck in a cycle of sin, especially repeating one specific sin, that should anger us. Whenever we see injustice take place in whatever shape or size, that should make us angry. Whenever we see someone pick on someone else or call someone else a bad name, that should make us angry. The emotion of anger isn’t necessarily a bad thing - but what should we do with that feeling? There are some train tracks the Bible gives us. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Don’t meditate on it. Don’t let it fester. Why? Because whenever we meditate on anger, we can be tempted to seek out revenge or fight fire with fire - this is what the devil would love for us to do! After all, if we’re feeling angry, it’s a whole lot easier to rationalize doing something like this that we wouldn’t normally do in our right mind. The Bible helps us out in this regard. Let’s consider another passage of Scripture regarding our emotions

Galatians 5:22–23 CSB

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.

The fruit of the Spirit are all of these beautiful things and lastly, self-control. If we let our feelings run rampant, we usually don’t exercise a lot of self-control. We don’t ignore our feelings, rather we refuse to let our feelings control our lives. Why does this matter so much? Because if we let our feelings control ourselves, A) we’re going to be miserable and B) we might think that how we feel is our new reality or our new normal as people have talked about the past year or so. What do we need desperately to be reminded of? The fact that there is something deeper than our feelings. What could that be? Experiencing the presence of God and having faith in Him.

The Reality of God’s Presence

Let’s consider several examples of people in Scripture who experienced genuine loss and sadness. In the Old Testament, we read of Job who genuinely lost everything. Job has experienced arguably more pain and grief than anyone in human history outside of Jesus. Whenever I reflect on my low points, they pale in comparison to Job’s. In the New Testament, we read of the disciples of Jesus experiencing confusion, heartbreak, and sadness at the loss of Christ whenever He was crucified. They are hiding in the upper room and they seem to be down in the dumps. We read of the apostle Paul who experienced betrayal, disappointment, persecution, and knew that his calling by God would eventually lead to his death. This was a man who knew great sadness and pain - yet he also knew great joy. Think back to Job for a moment. Job lost his things. He lost his family. He lost his wealth. And the majority of the book is spent dealing with Job handling this pain with others. He talks with his wife and his various friends. None of which are particularly helpful in his desperation. Finally, we read of Job crying out to God and God answering Job, His servant. Here’s the kicker with Job, though. What does God do with Job in the end of the book? Does God explain why the suffering took place? He never does. Does God give Him all the answers whenever Job asks that of Him? No. Instead, God asks Job this

Job 38:4–7 CSB

4 Where were you when I established the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? 6 What supports its foundations? Or who laid its cornerstone 7 while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Job 40:2 CSB

2 Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who argues with God give an answer.

Job 41:1 ESV

1 “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord?

God basically puts Job in his place here! Some, at this point, think that God is being kind of mean with Job. Of course Job wasn’t there whenever God created the earth and Job can’t do any of the things God says. God is God and Job is not. Duh! What is God getting at here? Even though our God doesn’t prevent us from going through suffering, He walks with us through our suffering. He walks with us through the fire. Even though we might not feel particularly good or even whenever we are going through bouts of frustration or anxiousness, we can be 100% confident in the fact the reality that

Our God is in control - the devil is not

Our God is with us - He hasn’t left us

Our God is for us - He is at work

Our feelings and self-centeredness might not like what is taking place, but the reality of the situation is that God is at work and He is working all things together for our good and for His glory! This is good news, friends! This is what Job comes to understand at the conclusion of this book

Job 42:2–6 CSB

2 I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, “Who is this who conceals my counsel with ignorance?” Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wondrous for me to know. 4 You said, “Listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform me.” 5 I had heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore, I reject my words and am sorry for them; I am dust and ashes.

Job realizes that God has a plan and as He see’s and experiences God and His goodness, He apologizes for His doubt. Job has lost everything, but what does He have left? He still has hope. At his lowest of lows, Job has nothing left other than his feeling of pain and his hope in God. At this point, Job could dwell on his feelings, or he could press into God and trust in Him. Friends, this is what Job does and this is the model for us today! Don’t buy into the lie that says that the way that we feel is the reality for our lives - the reality for you as a child of God is infinitely greater than how you are feeling today.

Conclusion

Jared Wilson, former pastor and current professor at MBTS, shared a story about how he used to have people in his congregation ask him the why question often. “Why is this happening to me? Why is God allowing this to happen?” He puts it well whenever he says this, “I didn’t have an answer to this specific question. But I would ask a question of my own, and it usually went something like this: “If you weren’t going through this, would you be as close to God as you are right now?” In his experience as a pastor, no one answered “yes” to this. In my shorter time as a pastor, I’ve never heard anyone say yes either. Why is this? Because whenever we dig deep into ourselves and our situation, we come to the realization that God is most interested in our holiness rather than our happiness and He allows things to happen in our lives to get us closer to Him and make us more like His Son. That’s our goal, isn’t it? To be sanctified and to look, smell, talk, and think like Jesus Christ!

In low moments, the world hopes that things will get better. They hope that they find an answer, a treatment, a solution. For Christians, we can share in some of those things, but Scripture speaks to our hope being rooted not in ourselves and what the world has to offer, rather our hope is rooted and founded in the Creator of the Universe and His promises for us.

1 Timothy 1:1 CSB

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope:

Colossians 1:27 CSB

27 God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Hebrews 6:19 CSB

19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.

Whenever we think that we’re all alone and that we are without hope and help, Satan wins. Our hope is found in our faith in Christ. Even when we can’t see Him or feel Him working, we know that He is working and we know that He hears us whenever we call to Him. See, friends, our reality is our hope in Christ. Our feelings might play some tricks on us - I know that I’ve had that happen in recent weeks. But even though Satan might play some of those mind games and make us feel like we are hopeless, what can he never take away? He can’t take away our hope. He can’t take away our victory in Christ. Even though we might not feel the best, our Savior knows what we are going through

Hebrews 4:15 CSB

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.

He knows. He cares. He is with us. Our hope is not in ourselves - it is in Him and one day we will see Him face to face as the hymn puts it

Living, He loved me Dying, He saved me Buried, He carried my sins far away Rising, He justified freely forever One day He's coming Oh glorious day

That is the basis for our faith. That is the reality of the situation. That is our anchor in the storm.