Emotions > Intellect?

Last night I had a very, very important realization: Most of what troubles me in my faith is my dependence on feelings.

God feels far away.

I don't feel forgiven.

It feels like God is disappointed in me right now.

It doesn't feel like God is leading me to do that, but I don't know why.

But what happens when your spiritual life is dominated by your emotions? Doesn't emotion have a place in our spiritual walk? Yes, it does. But I realized last night that emotion's place in my spiritual walk had usurped the highest authority in my walk with Christ; His Word, and what it tells me is true about Him.

God told me He would never leave or forsake me? (Deut. 31:6) God told me that He casts my sin as far as the east is from the west and remembers them no more? (Psalm 103:12) God told me that He loves me? (John 3:16) God told me what He requires of me? (Micah 6:8) Doesn't matter; my feelings say otherwise.

However, I listened to a Breakaway podcast yesterday entitled "Robe Your Mind for Action," and the guest speaker, Jennifer Wilkin, made an excellent point about how we usually approach Scripture with self-application in mind. We read it to "get something out of it," when what we really need to do is make sure we understand that we're learning about our God first, then we can make personal applications based upon that knowledge.

She also made an excellent point about reading Scripture to gain wisdom from knowledge. Knowledge of our God and His statutes enables us to make wise decisions about how we should engage our world, use our resources, etc. This morning I was debating whether I should try out a new church because I barely slept last night, but what if I was supposed to go? Oh Father, what do I do? Would You please guide me and tell me what I should do?

Almost immediately an answer came back: "What do you know about how I feel regarding church?"

He was inviting me to use my intellect, not my feelings. If He's already told me what He thinks about church (or to be more specific, about being in a community of Christians), why was I begging Him for an answer? I don't need a specific answer for for every situation I have for the rest of my life. What. Does. He. Say?

I don't think anything catastrophic would've happened if I had missed church today. But as I sat there and reasoned in my half-asleep stupor, I realized we are encouraged to be in community with other believers (Heb. 10:25, 1 Thess. 5:11), and when I go to church I enjoy it and feel better for the rest of the week. So using my knowledge of Scripture and God-given wisdom, I decided to go, and I'm glad I did.

Instead of believing every new "feeling" that comes into my spiritual life, I'm going to cling to what I know Jesus, who is "the same yesterday and today and forever," (Heb. 13:8) has said is true through His Father's Holy Word, and act on and believe in those things. Not that emotions have no place in the Christian's life, but when emotions > intellect, we will be as unstable and uncertain as ships tossed at sea.

"Out of all the voices calling out to me,
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth."
- Casting Crowns, "Voice of Truth"

The You Diet

Yesterday, I was reading some article on the internet, and happened to look over at the "Links" portion of the page, and I saw another article entitled "Dr. Oz: The Two-Week YOU Diet." I didn't really think about it--I own one of Dr. Oz's YOU books (and I watch Oprah...don't judge me!), so I knew what the poorly worded title was referring to, but since it was so poorly worded, it helped me think of something:

What if everyone did take a two-week diet from self, and instead donated that time to give and help others?

Think about it. What if we planned two weeks where we helped with some different organization every day? What if we raised money for a cause, visited those in nursing homes, comforted widows, cleaned up a local park, fed the homeless, honored veterans, or mentored a child? The need for volunteers is great and endless--there are a myriad of worthwhile opportunities out there.

I remember hearing a sermon preached by Ben Stuart at Breakaway (seriously, look up the Breakaway Ministries podcasts on iTunes--they're fantastic), where Ben brought up the excellent point that so many of us spend our days entertaining ourselves, and we envision our lives as always being in pursuit of comfort and entertainment until the day we die.

That was a wake-up call for me. Never before had I realized how self-centered my dreams for my life after college were, and I saw how that kind of self-serving lifestyle would ultimately lead to dissatisfaction and unhappiness. Is it OK to take time out for yourself to relax and recharge? Absolutely. Even the Almighty have to unwind! (Gen. 2:2, Luke 6:12) But the constant "self time" I was planning isn't what God wants for me, and must be put back in its proper place, with a proper balance.

Can you imagine the tremendous good that could come from even just 100 individuals committing to two weeks of daily service? What if there were thousands of people willing to commit? There could be massive changes in so many areas of need.

I haven't really been talking a lot about donating money, but I will close with this quasi-quote (this isn't exactly what was said, but it's very, very close):

"My goal for each of you is that, at the end of your life, you will have an empty bank account and a full funeral." - Ben Stuart ("God, Money, and the Last Days")

When I die, I hope my funeral will be filled with the people whose lives have been positively impacted by God working through me, and I will have used the body He has given me for all the tasks He called me to.

And, like Ben, I hope the same for you.

A Season of Singleness

It's strange when you start getting old enough where your friends are getting married (and some of the eager ones are even having kids).

Initially, there's that "Wow, seriously? But only OLD people get married!" reaction. Then you realize you ARE that old.

Oh----right. Dang.

Then there's that second reaction: The pressure and slight fear you'll be the oddball left with no one, and will forever have to endure the annoying (albeit well-intentioned) comments of, "Awww, Lindsey! We just have to find YOU someone!"

Thank you. I wasn't already painfully aware that I'm single.

But seriously, this isn't a post where I confess how I'm anxiously waiting, reading scores of bridal magazines and watching every bridal show, and wondering if every guy I meet could be "the One." Truthfully, I've never been that girl, and I don't intend to start.

Really, this post is about a recent revelation I feel God gave me. I've felt for awhile that I'm probably going to be single (or at least unmarried) for longer than most of my friends, and I was having trouble accepting it.

I was actually thanking God (half-heartedly, I'll admit) for this strange gift, because as a single person, I'm in a unique position to serve and be used by Him with a flexibility I won't have once I'm married. I think He wasn't satisfied with me just thanking Him for what I know "will be good for me in the long run," and He saw fit to share this insight with me:

"Lindsey, for everything there is a season (Ecc. 3:1). Enjoy each season of your life for what it is, so when the next season of your life rolls around, you will have no regrets. You will never be able to return to the life of a single woman once you're married, and if you spend all your time as a single person wishing you were married, by the time you ARE married you'll find yourself wishing you would have spent your 'single' time doing the things you can never do again. Enjoy each season for what it has to offer, so when you're married, you won't feel bitter toward the constraints that naturally come from being in a marriage."

It was an incredible thing to realize, and not only did it give me peace, it gave me excitement. What kind of amazing experiences does God have in store? I told Him I was game, and that we should definitely go on an adventure, just the two of us.

I've wondered what people meant when they said that He is the husband to the single, but now I understand. Of course there are things I look forward to sharing with an earthly husband, but the thought of spending time with Him definitely fills a part of the desire to be close to someone who knows you completely, and loves you for everything you are (and are not).

Do I still want to find someone? Absolutely. Do I think I won't at least date while I'm waiting for the right guy? Yeah, it's possible. Does that HAVE to happen? No. As weird as this might sound, I'm really OK with this situation right now, and I can unreservedly say I'm very excited to see what God has in mind for just the two of us, and I completely trust His timing.

For some of the best advice I've ever heard on being single, look up Breakaway Ministries on iTunes, and listen to Ben Stuart's talk entitled "The Gift of Singleness" (it's free!). Really, all his talks are awesome, so check them all out!