How About That

The Lord is careful never to address our feelings. But He will always respond to our persons.

The Lord will never ask you “how about that?”  That is my message for today.

When God told Moses to go to Egypt and bring His people out, He didn’t ask Moses how about that? When He told Mary she was going to have a baby, He didn’t ask her how do you feel about that?  When He told Paul to go preach the gospel, He did not ask Paul what do you think about that?

Moses, Mary and Paul were each asked to do something they had no experience doing before.  I’m sure they had feelings about what the Lord wanted them to do.  But they did what He asked without hesitation.  You and I will not be able to do the things the Lord asks us to do if we must sift all things through our feelings.

In Luke 5:5, Jesus had been sitting in Peter’s boat teaching the people on the banks of the sea of Galilee.  When He finished, He asked Peter to move the boat out to deeper waters to catch some fish.  Peter responded this way.  “Master, we have toiled night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your Word I will let down the net.”

Peter was saying, Lord I really don’t feel like fishing any more today.  There are no fish to catch.  But in spite of how I feel, I will do as you ask.  Of course, when they dropped the net, they caught so many fish they had to ask others to help bring them in.

Moses delivered the Israelites.  Mary had the baby Jesus.  And Paul preached the gospel all the way to Rome.  Many of us allow our feelings to rule our lives and because we do, we miss out on many blessings that come and pass us by.

Your feelings generally do not care much about what goes on around you.  Your feelings want others to care about how you feel about what goes on around you.  Your feelings will make you believe you must have more than a choice, but that you must be the choice in all that goes on with you.  Your feelings want to hear others say how about that?

You will hardly do the thing that you should do in the way that it should be done when you allow your feelings to be the standard for how you live. How about that? Others will hardly be open to you or be themselves toward you make them responsible for not hurting your feelings. How about that?

Your feelings are very shallow; they keep others from having deep relationships with you. Your feelings want to avoid pain and hurt but it will be painful and hurtful for others to connect with you because your feelings will prevent that.

Your feelings want to keep you safe from what you do not understand but they will keep you from understanding how safe it is to live while not understanding all that you want.

Your feelings will demand that you are considered in everything while they will fight to keep others from being considered in anything. Your feelings look for others to control as much as they are in control of you.

In John 21:19, Jesus says to Peter “Follow Me.”  Peter, seeing that John was also with Jesus responded by asking Jesus “But Lord, what about this man?”  Peter’s feelings were hurt because he wanted to be the only one Jesus asked to follow Him. At that moment, Peter’s feelings took over his life.

The Lord responded to Peter – not to his feelings by saying – “If I want this man to remain till, I come again, what is that to you? You follow Me.” John 21:22. In a way Jesus was now saying how about that Peter?

Don’t allow your feelings to have your life. The Lord will never respond to your feelings; He will speak to the person He created you to be but not to what your feelings want you to be.  He wants us to control our feelings so that our feelings will not control us.

Your feelings will make you live like you are the center of your world and ours too.  Your feelings will not allow you to feel like there is a reality greater than the one you live.

Your feelings don’t want you to feel like you have failed at anything.  But sometimes failing will help you learn to be better.

Your feelings will make you do the things you do poorly and with a poor attitude and for the wrong reasons.

Cain got his feelings hurt when God didn’t accept his offering, but He accepted the offering of Abel his brother.  This bothered Cain so much that he killed Abel. Cain wanted someone to sympathize with him. God is not going to do that with us. He wants us to grow up and control the one thing we can always control – ourselves.

How about that? How does it make you feel to know the Lord will not usually ask you how you feel about the things He wants from you? If you want to get beyond being led by your feelings to the place where you respond to the Lord with confidence you must learn to never want Him to ask you how about that?

The Lord does not ask us to agree with the things He wants us to be and to do. He wants us to be and to do what He asks because He is Lord. It is not likely He will ask how you feel about the things He wants from you.  You place a burden on relationships when you expect others to give in to your feelings.

God asks us to have no other God before Him.  He doesn’t get His feelings hurt and pout when we don’t do this.  How about that?

Yes, I know He says to us He is a jealous God. He tells us this so we will know He is after who we are and not how we feel.

Don’t get your feelings hurt when you learn your best friend does not have you at the top of their favorites list.  Amazingly, you will live through that.

Learn that things will be ok even if all things don’t go your way.  How about that?

Live a Delivered Life.  Love you.