feelings

1 Samuel 19:9
“Now the distressing spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing music with his hand.”

Like all of us, King Saul struggled with his emotions. When he looked at David, he did not see Israel’s rising star, or a man after God’s heart, but only a man who was a threat to his throne. Saul found himself filled with jealousy, fear, pride, and anger. As the story unfolds, we find these sins ultimately became his downfall. His failure was partly due to the way he dealt with his sin.

We read time and time again of a “distressing spirit from the Lord” that came upon Saul. This spirit was no doubt a strong conviction for the things he was doing wrong. Instead of allowing his conviction to bring him to repentance, Saul tried to drown out the voice of God with music. Lacking a “Walk-Man,” a CD player, or an iTunes playlist, he did the next best thing whenever conviction arose, he brought musicians in to play his favorite songs. While the music may have removed the guilty feelings and calmed the king, it failed to deal with the real issue. What Saul needed was not to feel better, instead he needed to change his behavior.

It is very common today for people to attempt to remove guilty feelings, instead of removing the actions that make them guilty. We might even run from friend to friend, or counselor to counselor, until we find someone who will tell us what we are doing is OK. While their counsel may make us feel better, it will not make us less guilty.

If you are tormented by conviction because you are involved in a lifestyle that God forbids, the answer is not to seek things that will make you feel better, but to seek to change your lifestyle. The Bible gives a clear cut way of dealing with sinful behavior,

1 John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

If you are misbehaving, take time right now to confess your sins and allow God to forgive you and to set you free.

Pastor Jim

1 Samuel 13:12

“Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”

As the second year of king Saul’s reign began to unfold, the nation of Israel was in trouble. The Philistines who occupied the southwest portion of the land were seeking to expand their territories by defeating Israel. When Saul’s army saw the Philistines approaching, they began to hide in caves, and many deserted. It did not take long before his three thousand soldiers were reduced to six hundred men. Understandably, Saul was overcome by emotion.
Unfortunately, he let his emotions make his decisions for him, and these decisions would prove to be very costly.

Saul decided that what he and the people needed to do was to offer a sacrifice to God. While this might sound like a good and even noble idea, it was actually a form of disobedience, since sacrifices could only be offered by the priesthood. Saul was showing his impatience, lack of trust, and his unwillingness to submit to the word of God. The driving force behind this decision was his own emotions.

“Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”

I wonder how many times our emotions have compelled us to do something the Bible forbids? Emotions cannot be the driving force behind our decision making process. Feelings must always be governed by a higher law. When we feel unloved, we must allow the Bible to remind us of the great love God has for us. When we feel tempted, we must allow the word of God to guard us against falling into forbidden actions. When we feel upset at another person, we must let the Scriptures guide our actions and show us the proper way to behave, and to resolve conflict.

Whatever you might be feeling, keep in mind that feelings come and go, but the principles found in God’s word are unchanging, and will prove to be a reliable roadmap through the journeys of life.

Pastor Jim