I think I'm pretty well trained in the area of feelings. In fact, I might say I'm saturated with it. I love something new. I miss the new car smell. I like new ideas. I miss the old days when things were "so good". I pray for good days and for everything to be just right. I've noticed how things go awry when the new gets old, the smell goes stale, ideas come and go, and how the present seems to pale in comparison to the past.
When everything is good and smooth, I'm happy and feel good about things and consider myself "blessed". When things are rough and out of my comfort zone, I'm not happy and question things. This is a lie and not of God.
Now take the deal about marriage, for instance. I remember dating and the excitement of spending money, time, and actions on this good investment that would become my new partner in life. The buzz, the sparks, the electricity, and the fresh hope were always present, it seemed. What happens when the years pass, growing in marriage, and you aren't feeling as much as during the courting rituals? The fire dwindles.
Similarly, look at my relationship with God. It's pretty common for a new creation to have a burning passion for the Lord at first, then somehow, for some reason, begin to fade.
How do I know I'm close to someone? In relationships, there are some telltale signs of being intimate: honesty, open, trusting, thinking about, talking with, time with, doing what they like, doing less what they don't like, invitations to everything, learning from, confessing failures, desire, loving. I noticed that there is nothing in that list about "having a good day" or "everything being good". This intimacy goes beyond circumstances and is stronger than the world's image and definition of being close. This is touching on God's design of covenant, such as "in sickness and health, till death...". All these things are a part of "being in love". Why isn't it enough? The world does not know true love, that's why.
This is what I think the Lord is trying to unlearn in me and everyone. He wants to illuminate the true definition of intimacy. The world indeed, saturates us with the image of intimacy tied to good feelings and good times. This is why people fail in faith: the marriage fire is gone, the passion for Christ is gone, etc. When in fact, if we participate in the real relationship, doing the things on that list above as He intended, we ARE close to the other! This seems so foreign to my brain, but it makes so much sense! Ah, what if we all allowed this change of perspective to take place and realize that doing the things the way the Lord says to do them is the real evidence of being close? I think there is much He wants to teach us on this subject. I pray He grows the seed and brings fruit that we would truly know.
I think I'm pretty well trained in the area of feelings. In fact, I might say I'm saturated with it. I love something new. I miss the new car smell. I like new ideas. I miss the old days when things were "so good". I pray for good days and for everything to be just right. I've noticed how things go awry when the new gets old, the smell goes stale, ideas come and go, and how the present seems to pale in comparison to the past. 