Contributor:
Terry Whitson
One of those designs is faith. Hebrews 11:6 declares “And without faith it is impossible
to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a
rewarder of those who seek Him.” As believers when we operate in bible faith we don’t
live by what we see or feel but rather we simply believe and obey God’s Word. Like
yourself, I want to please Father God and I know I do when I obey His Word. When we
act on and do the Word of God, this is faith and this pleases our Heavenly Father.
Forgiving others is a Choice – not a Feeling
Here is an example of faith in operation. Say someone mistreats you and tells lies to
your friends against you. You now have a choice; either you can condemn the person
and ridicule them or you can bless them. Jesus told us to bless those who curse us,
Luke 6:27-28. From the natural point of view we don’t want to bless them because
they have hurt us. But Father has called us to live a life of faith, and that life of faith is
realized and manifested by doing what He says – not what we feel. So we pray and say
“Father I forgive them for lying against me and I ask you to bless them. Show them your
love and kindness, be merciful to them Lord. I bless them in Jesus Name”.
This prayer is faith in action, this prayer pleases Father God and this prayer will keep you free
from bitterness and unforgiveness! But you may say, “I don’t feel forgiveness for
them”. Well I’ve got good news for you, you’re not called to live by your feelings!!
Forgiving others is a choice – not a feeling. Blessing those who have hurt us is a choice
– not a feeling. The devil would try to tell us that if you had forgiven them you wouldn’t
have those negative feelings. No! You have chosen to forgive and bless them and now
your overcoming the negative feelings by your faith.
Feelings will follow your Faith
Romans 1:17 says “…But the righteous man shall live by faith.” Faith is acting on
God’s Word and putting to death negative feelings. Every believer has to deal with
negative feelings. If you want to live a defeated Christian life – just base everything you
do on your feelings. If you want to live a victorious Christian life – live by faith and not
be your feelings. So here is a KEY that will set your life on track for victory -“Feelings
will follow your faith”. What am I saying here? Simply this, as you operate in faith
obeying God’s Word your feelings will follow and line up. They may not line up the first
day or the first week but they will as you PERSIST in obeying God’s Word. I’m not
saying over riding your feelings is easy, it can be a real challenge. You may have to
battle with those feelings for a time. But your feelings will subside because you have
chosen to walk in faith and love. As you persist you will grow spiritually and at the
same time you will be pleasing your Heavenly Father.
Watch Your Mouth
Here is a word of caution that will help you in overcoming the negative feelings. Once
you have forgiven and blessed those who have hurt you, DO NOT go around telling
others how you were hurt. If you do, you are not walking in forgiveness and instead of
the negative feelings subsiding they will grow stronger. You will be giving place to the
devil and unforgiveness. You can’t say “I’ve forgiven” and continue to talk about how
you were wronged. Once you forgive – you let it go.
But what about those hurt feelings? Pray and commit them to your Heavenly Father
and do not talk of your hurt feelings to others anymore. Continue to pray and bless
those who did you wrong and those hurt feelings will fly away. This is the will of God for
you in Christ Jesus.
Contributor: Terry Whitson (whitsonday@hotmail.com)
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