Next week we are going on a cruise. I am over-the-top excited. I am not a fan of cold weather, one of the main reasons we live in Texas, so your brilliant father is taking us to the Caribbean.
This reminds me of the last time we went on a cruise as a family. You will not recall the experience, but it is worth retelling. For the first two days I was terribly sea sick. I had all these great ideas about how I was going to work out and then relax on the boat, but it was everything I could do not to lose my lunch. After two precarious days, with the help of sea bands, I got used to rocking and the movement. Not enough to run on a treadmill, but enough to enjoy myself. In fact, by the end of the trip, I almost found the swaying and noise of the ocean to be relaxing as we went to bed. However first thing in the morning the sway of the ship would unbalance me.
The trip home was difficult. There had been an ice storm while we were away. We landed in flip flops and shorts to a cold front that even chilled the Galveston coastline. As we drove north, weather went from bad to worse. In Dallas, highways had been closed due to massive ice accumulation, and we lived north of Dallas! That night, armed only with our vacation clothes, we stayed in a hotel as we quickly lost daylight and the roads re-froze. All five of us, plus your grandmother in one hotel room. Imagine that.
That night as we settled as best we could, I laid in bed and felt the room sway. Gentle, methodic and rhythmic swaying. Had we not been on the ground floor of the hotel, I would conclude the winter north wind was shifting the building. I could almost hear the ocean waves in central Texas. I felt I was still on the ship. My equilibrium was so set on the movement of the ship that even though we were in the Texas Hill Country, I felt like I was moving.
And here is my point, not all feelings are reality. Not all feelings are true, truthful or even logical. We live in such an age where we are encouraged to do what we feel. Slogans and billboards preach if it feels rights then it must be right. That is not the case. Our feelings can deceive us, as did mine in this occasion and others.
I have had times in my life where I felt unloved and hopeless. Strong feelings that produced a physical reality for me in fatigue, weariness and deep sadness. Yet these feelings were not and are not reality. I am a deeply loved child of God. (Col 3:12)
You will be told to follow your heart, go with your feelings and do what you feel. Let me caution you to test your feelings with truth. And yes, before you ask, there is truth, there is absolute. Not everything is grey. Your feelings may tell you to break a promise, compromise your values or even condemn yourself, but feelings can be wrong. Seek counsel, seek reality and truth and then and only then act on those feelings.
Not all feeling are wrong, but not all feelings are right.
Verses that spoke truth to me:
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. (Psalm 40:1-3 NIV)
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18 NIV)
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:12, 13 NIV)
It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. (Psalm 119:71 NIV)
Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32 NKJV)
The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV)
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. (Psalm 94:19 NIV)
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. (Deuteronomy 7:6 NIV)
And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is. Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God. With God’s power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine. (Ephesians 3:18-20 NCV)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV)
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord say: “His love endures forever.” When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them down. I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. (Psalm 118:1-14 NIV)
Very well said......
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