More than a Feeling

God sometimes does influence us with a simple touch or feeling, but not so we would act on the feeling.  If the touch is from Him, He will then provide sufficient evidence to confirm it beyond the slightest doubt.

Consider the beautiful story of Jeremiah, when he felt God leading him to purchase the field at Anathoth. He did not act on his initial feeling but waited for God to completely fulfill His words to him before taking action.  Then once his cousin came to him, bringing the external evidence of God's direction by making a proposal for the purchase, he responded and said, :I knew that this was the word of the Lord" (Jer. 32:8).  A.B. Simpson

Jeremiah waited until God confirmed his feeling through a providential act, and then he worked with a clear view of the facts, which God could also use to bring conviction to others.  God wants us to act only once we have His mind on a certain situation.  We are not to ignore the Shepherd's personal voice to us, but like "Paul and his companions" (Acts 16:6) at Troas, we are to listen and also examine His providential work in our circumstances, in order to glean the full mind of the Lord.

Never say in your heart what you will or will not do but wait until God reveals His way to you.  As long as that way is hidden, it is clear that there is no need of action and that He holds Himself accountable for all the results of keeping you exactly where you are.

(Taken from Streams in the Desert)

I remember that night... as if it was yesterday.  The memory is one of the most distinct ones I have.  God whispered these words to me: 

"Becky, I will never ask or expect you to act on emotion alone.  Don't be afraid of somehow missing something or being in disobedience if it involves figuring out and sorting through emotions only.  If I need to speak to you, I will use a different form of communication.  In the meantime, hold fast to the path you are on.  I am with You every step of the way."

I cannot tell you what relief that brought to my heart.  I quickly wrote it down in my journal, suspecting that there would be other nights, mornings, afternoons, that I would need to reread those words. 

I was right.

But it's ironic, because when I studied the book of Jeremiah several months ago, I didn't pick up on the significance of his situation as it's explained above.  It makes total sense. 

I'm a woman.  No shocker there.  And us women, well, we tend to have a distinct advantage (or disadvantage, depending on the day) in understanding how emotions can impact us.  For me personally, the struggle of listening to my emotions and acting on my feelings was intensified because of the nature of the hurt that I've experienced in my life.  I realize that I don't hold a monopoly on hurt by any stretch, I just know that the specific types of hurt that I've had over the past few years had caused me to doubt myself in every way possible.  I didn't feel I had any worth other than the falsely defined worth that people had placed on me.  I didn't feel that I could reason or discern because of the way in which I had been trampled on.  And I didn't feel like I had the strength to make the choices that I knew had to be made because satan had been working overtime to destroy the very core of my spirit. 

I started to understand that I had been taken advantage of.  I had been used.  I had been hurt very deeply.  Satan used some extreme measures to try and steal as much of the real "me" as he possibly could.

As many of you know, those experiences impact not only the body, but the mind and the spirit, too.  It can absolutely crush you through and through.  Now hear me...God is capable of re-inflating, let me tell you!  But that night in which God spoke to me, I was not feeling it.  Certainly not to the point of being able to have of confidence of who I was in Christ, let alone finding the ability to act in that confidence.  Satan had been doing his best to keep me feeling hopeless, helpless, controlled and all shrunken down.  He did this by stirring up all kinds of emotional turmoil, knowing full well that I was having a hard time trusting my emotions.  I was having a hard time trusting, period.  Frankly, I was confused.  But here's the deal...God knew all that, too.  Which is why He said what He said.

He met me where I was, with full knowledge of all the baggage, old scars, fresh wounds and challenges that had settled into my lap.  And He reassured me that He wasn't in the business of trying to fool me.  I wasn't a mouse trying to find my way through the maze to get the cheese while He tried to muffle a sinister laugh as He watched me scramble. 

He's not like that. 
He's clear.  He's sensitive.  He's trustworthy. 
Not full of trickery.  Not cruel.  Not even capable of betrayal.

In fact, He chose to put Himself in a position to be "tricked."  Treated with cruelty.  Betrayed.  So He knows exactly how it feelsto be me.  To be you.

He knows that in those dark hours, it is important to have an trust-worthy ally.  Someone who deliberately bends down to your level.  A promise to communicate and guide and direct in a way that is easily understood when everything else around you is far from understandable.  Replacing confusion with clarity.  And that's what I think happened to me on that night as I called out to Him.  And what happened to Jeremiah as He sought Him out regarding a big decision.

I'm thankful beyond words for the ways in which He has always followed up that gut feeling or women's intuition or whatever you want to call it with "sufficient evidence to confirm."

I'm thankful beyond words that He has proven the above quote to be true..."As long as that way is hidden, it is clear that there is no need of action and that He holds Himself accountable for all the results of keeping you exactly where you are."

He wants us to succeed.  And He gives us exactly what we need to do so, whether it's whispers on a lonely night or a cousin to assist with the purchase of land.  He often plants those gut feelings and emotions, but as the song says, when it comes from Him, it's more than a feeling.  It's a first step in telling us where He wants us to go and what He wants us to do.  It's a matter of us having our eyes and ears open to what He wants to show us.  Surrendering.  Realizing that sometimes our feelings can and will lead us astray...not all of them are from the Lord.  His "sufficient evidence" will prove that as well.  And yes, sometimes it's in our own best interest to learn patience and obedience while we wait for God to follow up.  But it's always in our best interest.  And that confirmation will always come at precisely the right time.

I don't know if you relate more to Jeremiah's story or to mine.  They are different, yet they are the same.  And whichever one seems to resonate more with you, I hope you catch the fact that God is faithful.  He is fair.  And if you seek Him, He will never ever leave you hanging.  He knows where you are.  He will meet you there, speaking a language you can understand.  His prompting may start with your gut, but it's more than a feeling...it's merely the front edge of seeing His all-encompassing way of reaching out to us on every level (mind, soul, body and spirit) unfold in sheer perfection.