Feelings...

[Running Gator]

Feelings, nothing more than feelings
Trying to forget my feelings of love
Teardrops rolling down on my face
Trying to forget my feelings of love

So, who is old enough to remember that song!  

But really this thread was not about that classic oldie, but about feelings that we humans have.

For the record this is a spin-off of the changing churches thread.

I contend that it is impossible to divorce our decision making process from our feelings and also that it is bad idea to even try to. 

I will use an example of two young couples looking to buy the same house.  Both of them make a list of pros and cons so they can "logically" make a good decision.  The house is well within the financial range of the couples and has been inspected and is free of any but the most minor of issues.  The seller o the house has agreed to pay all closing cost and to provide a home warranty for the first year after the sale.

Couple 1 puts location on the Pro side as the house is close to a park and they feel that should they have children it would be nice to be close to a park. 

Couple 2 puts location on the Con side the house is close to a park and they feel that they would have children trampling on their lawn and their flowers.

 

Couple 1 puts the size of the yard on the Con side as feel they do not wish to spend a lot of time doing yard work and are not really into landscaping.

Couple 2 puts the size of the yard on the Pro side as they love being outdoors and feel they could make the lawn look beautiful. 

 

Couple 1 puts the kitchen on the Pro side as it is very large and feel it would be wonderful to cook in and to gather around during the holidays.

Couple 2 puts the kitchen on the Con side as they feel it is too big since they like to eat out a lot thus they fee that it is wasting valuable square footage.

 

This is just a partial list and both couples will look at their list and decided logically if the Pro side outweighs the Con side.  But at the same time, each Pro and Con was based upon feelings, so feelings played a large role in the decisions.

 

[kwikphilly]

lol,I was humming the song when I was talking to you the other Thread,you just can't help but think of that stupid song & it was one they played to death,,,,,sure do remember it!

  I'm 'feeling" kind if tired now but I will join you tomorrow when I "feel" more like getting into it,,,,,,Have a Beautiful,God Filled Evening!         Your Sis

[Flsnookman]

I may have a slightly different thought on feelings. As a recovering alcoholic/addict bad things happen when I rely on feelings. Much better things happen when I rely on God to direct my will. Even better things happen when I let myself rely on Him. Some might recognize that as steps 1,2 and 3 and you would be correct. This is only applicable to me as it relates to my walk with God. I find when I turn my will over to God (this takes a conscious effort) I am able to see past my feelings and better know His will for me. We are all unique and I believe God desires a 1 on 1 relationship with each of us. 

26 minutes ago, Out of the Shadows said:

For the record this is a spin-off of the changing churches thread.

To be honest I never knew attending multiple churches was an issue. 

[da_man1974]

I have to agree with you oots. 

I totally believe in prayer but feelings encourage us to make decisions. 

People that say they make no decisions without praying about it first must pray a ton. I think prsying about major decisions like job change and things of that nature need to be prayed about. Even changing churches needs to be prayed about. But i dont think god expects us to just sit back and pray. We have to move also. 

[Flsnookman]

I like to  go a whole day and try and pray about every decision...what socks to wear, what to eat, take a left or a right, lol Im sure that sounds odd but try it sometime ya might be surprised.

[Running Gator]

10 hours ago, Flsnookman said:

I may have a slightly different thought on feelings. As a recovering alcoholic/addict bad things happen when I rely on feelings. Much better things happen when I rely on God to direct my will. Even better things happen when I let myself rely on Him. Some might recognize that as steps 1,2 and 3 and you would be correct. This is only applicable to me as it relates to my walk with God. I find when I turn my will over to God (this takes a conscious effort) I am able to see past my feelings and better know His will for me. We are all unique and I believe God desires a 1 on 1 relationship with each of us. 

To be honest I never knew attending multiple churches was an issue. 

God made us with both a heart and a brain, why would he want us to not use one of them.  I would also point out that I am not saying to rely only on feelings, that would be just as bad as trying to never rely on them.  

I find that God uses my feelings to help to guide me, why else would He give them to us.  When the Holy Spirit leads me it is not with logic, but with my feelings.  I agree that God desires a 1 on 1 relationship, I guess we just interact with God differently. 

I have a friend I have known since the early 70s, we were in basic together.  He spent time in Vietnam with an infantry battalion, he was the point man for his platoon when they were doing patrols.  He once told me that the secret to survival was the old saying "think long, think wrong", he had to rely on his feelings and his training to survive. 

About 5 years ago I wanted to start playing the stock market myself instead of just letting our advisor do it.  My wife and I talked about it and we came up with a dollar figure we could both feel comfortable with and made the agreement that if I increased the money by more than 50% I would then move the increase to a different account and just use the seed money and if I ever lost it all that we would not add more.  I am not a day trader, but I am also not using this money for long term savings.  I have found that to be successful you have to do your homework, but you also have to rely on your instinct, in other words your feeling, about a stock.  Hitting a stock just as it is about to take off is all about timing, waiting even an hour can make it not worth the investment.  

As for church, there are some people that believe once you find a "home" church it is wrong to leave it for any reason other than they quit preaching the true Word of God.  I have never prescribed to that view, but have been at churches that do.  And if you leave them, you have to be willing to say goodbye to 90% of the friends you made there as they will take it as a personal affront.

[kwikphilly]

Blessings to ALL....

Good Morning.......Praise the Lord !!!
 

This morning I was sitting quietly reading Gods Word,reading my some of the adventures of King David.....these are my favorite.Recently our Lord Allowed me to fret a little before He quickly pulled in the reins(His loving Embrace) to remind me that He is in Control of EVERYTHING & with the knowledge of this Timeless Truth I can always be Comforted by Trusting Him completely & so you will have a little insight as to how what I am going to say is all connected!

    David ( 1Chronicles 21:2) did a very foolish thing,he apparently got to thinking instead of simply Trusting God,depending & relying on Him concerning any battle before him & he ordered a census .....this was not pleasing to the Lord,it would not matter if there were 1000 or 1 million men,,,the Lord was with David-never-the -less,David did it & with that note I suddenly remembered the lesson I had just learned &  I just sat with my Lord to think on these things

      I was just about to begin my morning chores & go outside when I started thinking about what OotS said to me in the Thread that birthed this one,he said"You must Trust your FEELINGS,,,,,,with that the Heavens opened up & I could see with the eyes of my heart ,when this happens I usually race to my note pad because the information comes in so quickly I can't hardly keep up with all of it...like when I am here on the computer with our Lord,it is effortless,,,no thought process involved

      The reason OotS made that statement was because I had said "I cannot trust my feelings independent of prayer & the Word of God"(paraphrased)   By that I meant that my heart & mind are made of flesh(carnal),,,,they are not dependable or reliable & so they must be tested,try the spirits & seek Gods Word.The GIFT of Discernment is not given to every Believer but  every Believer has access to Holy Spirits Discernment,we have to "ask & listen"....of course then the answer will always be supported & confirmed by Gods Word.

       So,are 'thoughts"feelings"......yes,they are part of the soul(emotions) which is different from our spirit......does Holy Spirit interfere with your thoughts or feelings,no but He Can & Does move through these .....these are choices we have all day long &the freewill to either walk in Spirit & in Truth or teeter between the flesh & the spirit,leaning one way,one time & leaning the other way yet,the next & so on.....

    We are a spirit in a physical dwelling place,we reside here with Holy Spirit,the one thing that greatly hinders our access to the Power of Holy Spirit is indeed the very flesh that we have come to know as 'self"    Our mind is the place our thoughts reside,this is where the enemy can have a field day....we have a BRAIN,it is made of flesh,,,,a gazillion nuerotransmitters that tell the body what to do & it tells our hearts what to 'feel",,,,the heart is also made of flesh but the heart also has understanding & eyes

    In Spirit(note the capital S)we are in unison with God,we are no longer hindering those Promptings of Holy Spirit,FREE in Christ,,,,free from our "self" standing in the way & free from the influences of the enemy    Trusting in God in comparison to trusting our "feelings"is key,there is no "self" in any part of that,,,,,does that mean our thoughts are never our own(from enemy or from God) no,of course not ,we are not just a puppet that is controlled by One or the other ,,,,,but testing is very much needed,satan influenced David & David ran with it.....was it a good idea,yes it was by logic & reason and David obviously 'felt" it was.....but logic & reason can get us into trouble as many of us know by checking our very own track records-lol   We are to love the Lord with all our hearts,all our minds & all of our soul,we are to Trust Him with ALL too,,,,,this is why Jesus sent the Helper,our Counselor.....even the tiniest decision in our daily lives should be taken into consideration,consulting Holy Spirit & Gods Word.......

    How many times a day do you re-act to a post,mindlessly responding with the very 1st thing that pops in your head,is it you,a thought,a feeling, the enemy or Holy Spirit?We see a lot of less than edifying words in a short(or long-lol)reply,,,,,,most of them are very unnecessary responses,they add nothing.....did it have to be said?What did you "feel"after looking back over it or while writing it....perhaps you should have Trusted God & looked to Him to say whether to speak or mind or not   Take captive every thought,this includes 'feelings....Learn what those feelings born from the Eyes of  your Understanding are don't take for granted that is always what they are,,,,,test,test,test & Trust only in God

    Anyway,that was my morning & now I will do my chores,be back in a bit

                                                                                    With love-in Christ,Kwik

[RustyAngeL]

On 10/12/2016 at 7:24 PM, Out of the Shadows said:

Feelings, nothing more than feelings
Trying to forget my feelings of love
Teardrops rolling down on my face
Trying to forget my feelings of love

So, who is old enough to remember that song!  

But really this thread was not about that classic oldie, but about feelings that we humans have.

For the record this is a spin-off of the changing churches thread.

I contend that it is impossible to divorce our decision making process from our feelings and also that it is bad idea to even try to. 

I will use an example of two young couples looking to buy the same house.  Both of them make a list of pros and cons so they can "logically" make a good decision.  The house is well within the financial range of the couples and has been inspected and is free of any but the most minor of issues.  The seller o the house has agreed to pay all closing cost and to provide a home warranty for the first year after the sale.

Couple 1 puts location on the Pro side as the house is close to a park and they feel that should they have children it would be nice to be close to a park. 

Couple 2 puts location on the Con side the house is close to a park and they feel that they would have children trampling on their lawn and their flowers.

 

Couple 1 puts the size of the yard on the Con side as feel they do not wish to spend a lot of time doing yard work and are not really into landscaping.

Couple 2 puts the size of the yard on the Pro side as they love being outdoors and feel they could make the lawn look beautiful. 

 

Couple 1 puts the kitchen on the Pro side as it is very large and feel it would be wonderful to cook in and to gather around during the holidays.

Couple 2 puts the kitchen on the Con side as they feel it is too big since they like to eat out a lot thus they fee that it is wasting valuable square footage.

 

This is just a partial list and both couples will look at their list and decided logically if the Pro side outweighs the Con side.  But at the same time, each Pro and Con was based upon feelings, so feelings played a large role in the decisions.

 

I'm old enough I remember it well.  

[RustyAngeL]

20 minutes ago, Davida said:

Personally I'm not a big fan of following "feelings". I find most who do that are reactive to others and their environment. Imo it is Not wise to base any decisions ,perceptions, beliefs or opinions upon emotions or sensations or cravings. I choose to examine the facts and through  prayer make my decisions and I ask that the Lord Jesus take command and guide my mind and heart. 

 The Bible says the heart is wicked  and causes us troubles. so I ask God to cleanse my heart on a regular basis. 

Nor am I Davida.  I heard the saying, women think with their hearts, men with their heads.  I'm not to fond of that either, we need to have both.  However when a serious  decision needs to be made I want to listen to Holy Spirit and now what my gut tells me. 

[Running Gator]

1 hour ago, Davida said:

Personally I'm not a big fan of following "feelings". I find most who do that are reactive to others and their environment. Imo it is Not wise to base any decisions ,perceptions, beliefs or opinions upon emotions or sensations or cravings. I choose to examine the facts and through  prayer make my decisions and I ask that the Lord Jesus take command and guide my mind and heart. 

 The Bible says the heart is wicked  and causes us troubles. so I ask God to cleanse my heart on a regular basis. 

I cannot imagine living life as if I had no feelings, discounting them all the time.  Why do you suppose God made us with feelings if we were to ignore them?