Feelings can be deceptive

A series of events in my life have proven once again that this is a faithful phrase.
Feelings can be deceptive.
It's not that we can always control how we feel about certain things. I don't think everyone has mastered putting reigns on that mysterious link between feelings and actions. Of course we can in many situations. This has been seen throughout history in even the most difficult times.

This morning a number of things have reminded me that feelings are often deceptive. It's interesting to me to watch my own life, almost as an observer, and see how specifically in the way I feel about a few certain things isn't the sum total of truth. It's also a bit confusing but nonetheless, I'm learning from it.

So when I consider the process -- breaking it down ....feelings originate from thoughts attached to objects/people...right? If this is true, then some thoughts are tricky because they make us feel hopeful or hopeless/frustrated or peaceful.

I read in a devotional this morning that King David was in a cave, depressed and hopeless before the promises of being King came to pass. Joseph was lying on a prison floor falsely accused before he was promoted in life. The Israelites were literally between a sea of hopelessness to cross and their enemies on the other side when God opened up a way for them.

I can relate to these Israelites who escaped Egypt, a land of slavery, to follow God. I'm sure they felt abandoned and defeated, wondering if God would come through or if He brought them to this place only to have them swallowed up on the brink of destruction.

My own trials, though trivial to others sometimes seem insurmountable to me. It's not until I realize that there is no way around this process of going through it that I will finally have vision for the other side. I must go through these difficult moments and I may feel a thousand different feelings yet, it doesn't mean they are based in truth. I like this quote, though I'm not sure who wrote it.

"Our feelings and our experiences are not the sum total of truth. God’s word is truth and we need to cling to that when what we can observe tells us otherwise."

I don't like waiting through the pain of unanswered questions I have about my life and my future. Yet I know that God comforts me in my questioning and says, "I am with you and I won't waste a single tear you have cried."I'm realizing that no matter how I feel right now in the moment about my life -- it is not the sum total of truth. Maybe there is some truth in some of it, but God's promises and His truth is what I need to hold onto to determine my future, not what I see or feel.

Someone once said don't doubt things when it's dark --- things that you know to be true and saw in the light.I wholeheartedly agree. Sometimes we all need strength to remember that.

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you not to harm you, plans to Give you a hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11