WHEN FEELINGS SAY:  “I CAN’T”; FAITH MUST SAY:  “I CAN”

Victor M. Eskew

 

          We live in a world where individuals rely upon their feelings to guide and direct them in almost everything they do.  “This is how I feel about something” is a common expression.  Counselors ask their clients:  “How do you feel about that?”  In the religious world, people will say:  “But, I feel like I am saved.”  When it comes to being a parent, you are not supposed to hurt your child’s feelings.  There have been some people who quit attending a church because the preacher hurt their feelings.  Yes, feelings are certainly one of the major guideposts in our 21^st-century society.

          OceanSide has entered into 2024 with a new theme:  “Doing What I Can Do.”  As we try to implement this theme into our lives this year, there are going to be times when our feelings will say to us: “You cannot do that.”  For some reason, we have a tendency to listen to our feelings.  We believe our feelings.  When they say, “You can’t,” we don’t.  Dear readers, instead of listening to our feelings, we need to listen to our faith.  Faith does not say, “I can’t.”  Faith will boldly cry:  “I can.”  Listen to Paul’s words of Philippians 4:13.  “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” 

          There will be times this year when we will not believe that we can evangelize because we feel an abundance of fear rise within us when we think about talking to others about salvation in Christ.  We have to overcome the feelings of fear with faith in God’s Word.  God has told us several things in His word.  First, there are honest and good hearts in the world that will receive God’s Word (Luke 8:15). Second, he has told us that His Word is powerful and can save the souls of the lost (Heb. 4:12; Rom. 1:16).  Third, He has promised us that if we will sow the seed, He will give the increase (1 Cor. 3:6-7).  We must embrace these promises in God’s Word with faith.  This will provide us with the courage to speak to those who are lost about the most important message they will ever receive.

          There will be times in 2024 when we will have feelings of doubt about our abilities to labor in the Lord’s vineyard.  This doubt can cause us not to volunteer for positions in which we just might excel over time.  When doubt arises, we must conquer it with faith in God’s precious Word.  God has blessed every child He has with talents.  “”For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.  And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey” (Matt. 25:14-15).  It may be that we only have a little bit of talent in an area when we first begin.  However, if we use that talent, God has promised that He will increase it.  “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance” (Matt. 25:29).  Rather than doubting, we need to say:  “I can.”  I can lead singing.  I can teach a class.  I can extend the invitation.   Again, we must hear God’s Word and believe it.  This will provide us with assurance that will enable us to push doubts out of our minds.

          There will be times during this next 365-day period when you will feel like giving up because there doesn’t seem to be any success in the things you or the church is doing.  You will say to yourself:  “What’s the use?”  You may be tempted to quit attending Bible classes and worship services.  When feelings of depression and hopelessness take hold, again, faith must rule in our hearts.  The Bible teaches that there will be rainy seasons.  There will be cold snaps.  There will be droughts.  There will be periods of disease.  Too, the enemy will do all that he can do to destroy our crops.  However, we must keep on keeping on.  Paul tells us:  “And let us not be weary in well doing:  for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Gal. 6:9).  We have to keep working and toiling.  Due season will eventually come.  When it does, we will reap in proportion to how diligently we have labored (2 Cor. 9:6).  Yes, when we are weary and ready to quit, faith must fill us with strength and vitality.  We keep putting one foot in front of the other knowing that one day will reap a harvest.  David promises this in Psalm 126:5-6.  “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.  He that goeth forth and weepeth bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” 

          There will be times in the next twelve months that we may suffer hardship, trials, tribulations, and temptations.  These things can often seem overwhelming as we face them.  We often begin to question God and our faith in Him.  One question that is usually asked is:  “Why God?”  The Bible refers to these struggles as the trial of our faith (1 Pet. 1:7).  Rather than feeling rejected by God, these are the times that require a faith that says:  “I can and I will endure.”  Oftentimes these trials come because we are children of God.  Remember Job (Job 1:8-12).  Too, it is within our trials that the strength of God can be manifested in us.  Paul struggled with a thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7).  He went to God three times to have it removed (2 Cor. 12:8).  God’s response was as follows:  “My grace is sufficient for thee:  for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 cor. 12:9).  When Paul realized this, he could then glory in his infirmities (2 Cor. 12:10) and take pleasure in them as well (2 Cor. 12:11).  A final point regarding our struggles is in order.  They are like a refiner’s fire.  If we will endure them, our faith and our Christian lives will be transformed.  Our faith will “much more precious than of gold that perisheth” (1 Pet. 1:7).

          Dear brethren, during the course of the next 12 months our feelings will challenge us on numerous occasions.  Seldom do our feelings exhort us to remain faithful to the Lord.  Instead, they cause us to doubt, fight against, and depart from God.  When those battles ensue, do not rely on your feelings.  Give heed to your faith which is based on the Word of God (Rom. 10:17).  That faith will never lead you astray.  It will never cause you to leave God.  It will never put your soul in jeopardy.  The wise Solomon was right when he said:  “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart:  and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Prov. 3:5-6).