Yesterday, I told you that I believe that every Christian has the Spirit of God living inside of them. (Romans 8:9). This is one of the sweetest parts of the Christian life… to know Him, and to feel Him moving inside of your soul. He is my companion, my strength, He restores my soul, He guides me, convicts me and comforts me in ways that are hard to describe. He is as real to me as the chair I'm sitting on at this moment.
That said, the message of the Bible is clear: we cannot always "feel" God. I certainly can't. There are times I "feel" like He is absent and like my soul is wandering in "darkness." In those moments, we can't lose sight of this crucial biblical truth: the presence of God is grasped mostly by faith, not by feelings. If you depend on feelings to prove the presence of and love of God in your life, you're going to feel lost and alone most of the time.
We must "believe our way into our feelings, and not feel our way into our beliefs." We must not doubt in the darkness of our feelings what God has demonstrated to us in the light of the cross. There, once for all, He demonstrated His compassion and proved His commitment to us. Found your confidence on the unchangeable cross of Christ, not the capricious winds of your feelings.
One of the practical ways I have told you I do this every day is to pray the "light" of the Gospel into my life. It is a 4 part prayer, and it goes like this. Do this, every day for a month, and I can almost guarantee that through the Spirit it will change your life:
“Father, there is nothing I can do today that would make you love me more; nothing I failed to do yesterday made you love me less.”
“Father, your presence and approval are all I need today for everlasting joy.”“Father, as you have been gracious and a servant to me, so I will be to others.”“Father, everything the Gospel tells me about your intentions for my life, my family, and my world is TRUE. I will ask according to the generosity and power You revealed in the Gospel.”
