Feelings

May 8, 2015

Way back in the 1970s, a guy named Morris Albert brought out a song called "Feelings."  It was one of those one-hit-wonders that resonated with the peoples in 1975, including me.  Ask me today and I daresay I can still sing most of the lyrics without missing a beat.  No, it won't sound pretty but that's what you get for thinking I could sing.

Why did this song strike a chord with so many?  Could it be because we all have feelings, we all have hurts, and we all have unrequited love stories that haunt us?  Hmn.  ♫  Feelings, wo-o-o feelings, wo-o-o, feel you again in my arms. ♪

There have been many times when I have felt things that just weren't true.  I used to feel I didn't belong with certain groups while in grade, middle, and high school.  I never felt that I was pretty enough or athletic enough or smart enough to belong to the clubs and sports teams.  I often felt out of place, wondering where--if there was such a place--that I could fit in.  At home, I felt overlooked, underloved, and like I wasn't supposed to be in that family.  As I went on to college, I finally found my niche.  Surrounded by folks who were trying to figure it out also, I thrived.  I made so many friends and got to participate in classes and extracurricular things of my choosing.  Yet something was still missing as I quickly began to realize that I really didn't fit in with these folks after all.  I was just so love hungry that I fell for feelings rather than truths.  When the chips were down, so was I.  I found myself alone again, struggling with my beliefs, questioning those things I had been taught, and wondering if life wasn't all just a lie.

Fast-forward to the woman I am now.  Thirty plus years of soul-searching, running from my past, pretending to have it all together, and finally realizing that those voices in my head were all wrong.  Wrong.  They had been whispering half-truths all along.  They had been telling me to not try, to stay out of relationships because they only brought pain, to rely on on myself because the others would only let me down.  And in a way, they were right.  I didn't have a career.  I didn't have a best-friend or really even a close friend that I could tell everything to and have them still love me in spite of myself.  And I didn't get let down much by my casual friends because I had stopped investing my time and attention in them.  The results?  I had a fairly peaceful, boring, and lonely life.  Stuck in my self-imposed prison, I was safe.  I was secure.  I was...dying a slow death.

About ten years or so ago, Casting Crowns came out with a song entitled "The Voice of Truth."  What an impact it had!  "Out of all the voices calling out to me

I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth!"  

As I close--partly because my computer is being such a hate goat--I want to leave you with the reminder that there's only One Voice you should be listening to.  And it takes effort, my friends, because He speaks it in a still, small voice.  Can you hear Him?  If not, maybe you should take a few moments and find a quiet place, one where you won't be interrupted nor tempted by anything that distracts you.  Forget your feelings for a few minutes and just be still.  Know that He is God and you are not.  Feel His love wash over you as you sit at Jesus' feet.  Purge out those lies that are keeping you bound and be free.  Yes, I know it's hard.  If it was easy, everyone would do it and what kind of world would that be?  Heavenly, you say?  I think you might be right!

Let's pray!

Dear God, as I tried to write this, You know the distractions I faced.  My feelings tried to get me to just quit when the computer was being so aggravating.  However, as I waited for it to get back into its groove, I read my James MacDonald email and was affirmed that I am on the right track here.  Thanks for that, Lord!  Thank You for sending me reminders that I am not alone, that there are others out there who battles issues much like my own, and mostly, Lord, that You are always near, always ready to talk to, and to hear from.  Help me to be still and listen to You throughout the day--throughout my life!

Lord, for those who may read this blog today I ask that You bless their hearts--their hearts, Lord, where the feelings invade.  Touch those sweet souls and assure them that You love them and that Your love is of far more value than anything the world tempts them with.  Make their heads strong so that they are easily able to validate fact over feeling, truth over fiction.  Show Yourself to them in a way they might not have ever seen before and convince them, Lord God, that Your Voice of Truth is what they need to be listening to.

In the name of Jesus I pray.  Amen.