That Old Feeling
The feeling that an all-powerful God is sheltering us in His loving arms while we go through dark and troubled times is a comforting feeling – I guess. Note the word feeling.
Many have moved from the traditional idea of God as a being separate and apart from them to an understanding that God is All. “But Allen,” they complain, “I miss that comforting feeling I got from my old-time religion God.”
Did Those Feelings Help You?
Those comforting feelings of a Savior leading you beside still waters and making you lie down in green pastures, how did that work for you? Did those feelings eliminate the pain or merely make it more endurable? Did those feelings “cure” the cancer? Did they put money in the bank account?
Feelings Defined
Think about it. Feelings are based on a reaction to some real or imagined circumstance. Psychology Today defines a feeling this way: “Feelings can be defined as a person’s response to the emotion that comes from the perception of a situation.” Feelings are always at the mercy of something seemingly outside of yourself. Yes, sometimes even a “God” outside of yourself.
God Is Changeless
Feelings are like weather vanes – constantly changing with the currents of “outer” stimulation. Yet your Holy Bible reveals a changeless God – “I am the Lord thy God, and I change not.” The mere fact that feelings are changeable is a clue that they have nothing to do with God – a changeless God. Changeable feelings about a changeless God is an indication that we’ve headed down a dark pathway toward a dead end. Stop!
The Power Is In The Knowing
Knowledge is power. You’ve heard that said. Christ Jesus said it this way, “Ye shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free.”
Do you need to be free from lack? Know the Truth.
Do you need to be free from some hopeless situation? Know the Truth.
Do you need to be free from a dis-ease? Know the Truth.
That’s the power of Knowledge. Christ Jesus did not say you shall feel a particular way and your feelings will free you. He said, “You shall know the truth.” And that truth sets you free.
There is, as you know, a difference between merely saying “I am the Presence of Infinite Goodness” and experiencing this as a living fact. It’s one thing to feel this statement is true, but another to KNOW it is true.
Every statement of Truth you’ve ever read will be just a statement – one that even a well-trained parrot can repeat. Saying the statement can give you a rush of good feelings. However, in times of seeming trouble, those statements will be as effective as fighting a lion with a feather duster. Conversely, when you KNOW that the statement you are saying is the absolute Truth, it fleshes itself out as a living reality in your experience.
Giving Up The Lesser For The Greater
Although there lacks that feeling of a helping, saving and comforting God, you have redeemed it for something of greater value: KNOWLEDGE. And with this KNOWLEDGE is FREEDOM. But don’t be confused. This is not a freedom from some illusory power. It is a freedom to enjoy the majesty of your True nature.
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