Monday, June 13, 2011

Live by Will, Not Just Emotion

Hebrews 13:20-21

We have no direct control over our feelings, but we have control over our will. God does not hold us responsible for what we feel but for what we "will."  Furthermore, in His sight, we are not what we "feel" but what we "will." Let us, therefore, not live in the summerhouse of emotion but in the central citadel of the will, wholly yielded and devoted to the will of God.

When we are in communion with the Lord, our soul is often flooded with holy emotion, the tides rise high, the swelling tides of joy rise, and every element in nature joins in the choral hymn of rapturous praise. But tomorrow comes, and life has  to be faced in the trying workplace, the dingy shop, the noisy factory, the godless workroom. As the soul compares the joy of yesterday with the difficulty experienced in walking humbly with the Lord, it wonders whether it is quite as devoted and dedicated as it was. But during such a time, how reassuring it is to say with confidence that the "will" has not altered its position by a hair's breadth.  We can sincerely declare, "My God, the spring tide of emotion has passed away like a summer brook, but in my heart of hearts, in my will, You know I am as devoted and as loyal to You as during the blessed moment of communion with You." This is an offering with which God is well pleased.

Why is it important to live according to what we "will," and not by what we "feel?" What makes this hard to do sometimes?

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