Feelings. Feelings. Feelings.

Feelings. Feelings. Feelings.

If there is one word I have grown weary of hearing in today's Church, it is feelings.

Everybody wants to talk about how they feel, how worship made them feel, how the sermon made them feel, or whether they could feel the presence of God.

I wonder how the Apostle Paul felt.

How did he feel when he was beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, hungry, cold, and exhausted? How did he feel when he was sitting in chains, uncertain of what tomorrow might bring?

Actually, Scripture tells us Paul experienced sorrow, fear, weakness, and overwhelming pressure. He was human, just like the rest of us.

But Paul never made his feelings the foundation of his faith. Jesus Christ was that foundation.

Somewhere along the way, parts of the Church have confused emotional excitement with spiritual maturity.

We have people running from one worship experience to another, chasing the next emotional high, waiting for the next preacher, the next conference, the next song, or the next spiritual experience to give them another temporary fix.

And when the feeling wears off, they're right back where they started.

No spiritual growth. No lasting change. No evidence of the fruit of the Spirit. Just an endless search for another experience.

Meanwhile, Paul, writing from prison, could say, "I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." (Philippians 4:11)

Think about that. He didn't say he had learned to feel good about everything. He had learned to trust Christ through everything.

And here's what troubles me.

We have become so concerned about what people are feeling in church that we sometimes forget to ask whether they are actually following Jesus.

Galatians 5:22–23 tells us the evidence of the Holy Spirit's work in our lives is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Not goosebumps. Not emotional outbursts. Not how excited we become during a worship service.

I'm not against emotion. I've shed more than a few tears in prayer myself. There is nothing wrong with experiencing the joy of the Lord.

But there is something terribly wrong when we begin chasing the experience instead of pursuing the One we claim to worship.

If our faith only works when we feel something, what happens when we feel nothing?

Paul kept following Jesus when the crowds were gone, when the prison doors were locked, when his body was hurting, and when tomorrow looked uncertain.

That's the kind of faith we need today.

Faith that produces obedience. Faith that bears fruit. Faith that keeps walking with Jesus when the music stops, the emotions fade, and nobody is watching.

The question isn't how much of God you felt on Sunday. The question is how much evidence of Christ others see in your life on Monday.

Stop chasing the next spiritual high and start walking with Jesus every day.

Because Christianity was never meant to be an endless series of emotional experiences.

It is a life surrendered to Jesus Christ.

~ ray mileur