Your Feelings Lie...

I have been talking to several youth lately who are dealing with lots of "feelings." Some of them are battling with heartbreak over a relationship that didn't work out, some are dealing with pain from long ago, some are smitten with love, some are furious with rage, and some are just trying to figure out what they are feeling. One thing they have all had in common is this phrase, "I feel _____, but I don't know why."

This happens to almost all of us. I have a friend who asked for prayer for one of these moments of "feelings." There was a lot of wisdom in his words. Here's how our conversation went:

Him: "Hey man, could you pray for me? I feel really depressed."
Me: "Sure, everything ok?"
Him: "Yeah, this happens sometimes. I feel really down, but I know that if I just press through it in a few days it will be better. Just stinks while I'm going through it."

I think this stems from the fact that we are all "broken." Since Adam and Eve first sinned against God, we as a people have been messed up. Our "feelings" are messed up along with that. In fact, they flat out lie to us sometimes. We can be having a great day and suddenly we feel sad or discouraged. There could be no reason for it. God knows this about us and warned against it in Jeremiah 17:9-10:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. 

Now, I know this may sound harsh or simple, but it really is one of the best solutions to "feeling bad" for no reason. Keep going. Keep doing what is right. Keep going. Pray to God for strength, ask friends to help, but just keep going. Your feelings can lie. They can tell you everything is falling apart when it isn't. Keep going. It will get better. And if you are trusting in Jesus, it will all be ok.

In Christ,
jon walton
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