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I Know What God's Word Says- So Why Don't I Feel It? · WholeHeart Conversations

• 0:00
  Constance Lavonice: Let's talk about when we know what God's word says, but we don't feel it.
• 0:06
  Constance Lavonice: Maybe you know that God loves you.
• 0:10
  Constance Lavonice: You can quote the scriptures.
• 0:13
  Constance Lavonice: I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
• 0:16
  Constance Lavonice: You know God says He will never leave you nor forsake you.
• 0:22
  Constance Lavonice: God has a plan to prosper you and not to harm you, that you are a new creation in Christ, that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.
• 0:35
  Constance Lavonice: You know the truth, but sometimes you don't feel the truth.
• 0:43
  Constance Lavonice: And when what we know and what we feel don't line up, it can leave us questioning.
• 0:54
  Constance Lavonice: What's wrong with me?
• 0:57
  Constance Lavonice: Why am I still anxious?
• 1:00
  Constance Lavonice: Why am I struggling with my self-esteem?
• 1:05
  Constance Lavonice: Why do I still feel insecure?
• 1:09
  Constance Lavonice: Do I really have enough faith?
• 1:13
  Constance Lavonice: Why do I feel lonely when I know God is with me?
• 1:19
  Constance Lavonice: These are all normal questions that Christians ask.
• 1:24
  Constance Lavonice: God created us to feel and have emotions.
• 1:30
  Constance Lavonice: But it's important to be reminded of the truth.
• 1:36
  Constance Lavonice: Your feelings are real, but they're temporary and fleeting and constantly changing.
• 1:46
  Constance Lavonice: Welcome to Whole Heart Conversations.
• 1:51
  Constance Lavonice: This is a podcast for women discussing biblical faith, mental health, and whole heart, spirit, soul, and body resilience.
• 2:03
  Constance Lavonice: I'm your host, Constance Lavonice.
• 2:07
  Constance Lavonice: I like the expression, feelings are like visitors, meaning they're not here to stay.
• 2:16
  Constance Lavonice: They're just passing through.
• 2:19
  Constance Lavonice: And your feelings are not your ultimate source of truth.
• 2:25
  Constance Lavonice: God calls us to live by faith, not by our feelings, and he equipped us with the Holy Spirit when we received the gift of salvation by grace through faith.
• 2:41
  Constance Lavonice: Therefore, we can acknowledge what we feel and not allow what we feel to determine what we believe.
• 2:56
  Constance Lavonice: As I mentioned earlier, God created us with emotions.
• 3:02
  Constance Lavonice: Jesus experienced emotions.
• 3:06
  Constance Lavonice: He wept, he felt sorrow, and he experienced anguish at the cross.
• 3:15
  Constance Lavonice: So expressing emotions do not mean you're spiritually weak or you don't have enough faith.
• 3:27
  Constance Lavonice: Sometimes, as Christian women, we receive messages that if we really trusted God, we wouldn't feel angry or sad, overwhelmed, or afraid.
• 3:45
  Constance Lavonice: But scripture doesn't teach that.
• 3:48
  Constance Lavonice: Instead, scripture gives us permission to bring our emotions into the presence of God.
• 3:59
  Constance Lavonice: Think about the Psalms and how David cried out to God.
• 4:05
  Constance Lavonice: He expressed fear, grief, confusion.
• 4:11
  Constance Lavonice: David asked questions, and yet he continued to turn toward God.
• 4:20
  Constance Lavonice: And that's important.
• 4:22
  Constance Lavonice: It's okay to have emotions.
• 4:26
  Constance Lavonice: It's okay to express emotions because faith doesn't require us to pretend that we don't feel something.
• 4:39
  Constance Lavonice: Faith points us to the word and asks the question, God, this is what I feel.
• 4:49
  Constance Lavonice: But what is true?
• 4:53
  Constance Lavonice: Let's look at Proverbs chapter three, verses five and six.
• 4:58
  Constance Lavonice: This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.
• 5:02
  Constance Lavonice: It says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
• 5:11
  Constance Lavonice: In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.
• 5:17
  Constance Lavonice: We're exhorted to trust in the Lord with all our heart, your mind, your will, and emotions, and do not lean on our own understanding.
• 5:33
  Constance Lavonice: Sometimes our feelings become part of our own understanding.
• 5:41
  Constance Lavonice: I feel afraid or anxious.
• 5:45
  Constance Lavonice: Therefore, something terrible is about to happen.
• 5:49
  Constance Lavonice: I feel unworthy.
• 5:52
  Constance Lavonice: Therefore, I must not have value.
• 5:55
  Constance Lavonice: I feel like God isn't moving in my life.
• 6:00
  Constance Lavonice: Therefore, He isn't.
• 6:04
  Constance Lavonice: I call this being led by your feelings, your own understanding.
• 6:11
  Constance Lavonice: And remember, feelings are temporary and fleeting, and feelings don't always give us an accurate interpretation of reality.
• 6:25
  Constance Lavonice: Feelings don't tell the whole story.
• 6:29
  Constance Lavonice: We can feel afraid and still be safe in God's presence.
• 6:36
  Constance Lavonice: We can feel uncertain and still be walking in faith.
• 6:42
  Constance Lavonice: So going back to Proverbs chapter three, verse six, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
• 6:57
  Constance Lavonice: So instead of being guided by our feelings, we acknowledge Him, God, and God's Word.
• 7:08
  Constance Lavonice: And because we have the person of the Holy Spirit within us, our Helper, the Spirit of Truth, as described in John chapter 14, verses 16 and 17.
• 7:23
  Constance Lavonice: And as Jesus stated in John chapter 14, verse 26, the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and remind you of all that I said to you.
• 7:45
  Constance Lavonice: The Holy Spirit is the key.
• 7:50
  Constance Lavonice: The Holy Spirit will remind us of God's truth as revealed in his word.
• 7:59
  Constance Lavonice: The Holy Spirit will convict us of the truth and provide wisdom and give us the power to walk in the truth.
• 8:11
  Constance Lavonice: The Holy Spirit will guide us.
• 8:14
  Constance Lavonice: He will make your paths straight.
• 8:18
  Constance Lavonice: So instead of making assumptions based on our feelings, we bring our emotions into the presence of God and ask, God, this is what I feel, but show me what is true.
• 8:40
  Constance Lavonice: Your feelings may say, protect yourself.
• 8:45
  Constance Lavonice: The Holy Spirit says, trust me.
• 8:49
  Constance Lavonice: Your feelings may say, you're not enough.
• 8:55
  Constance Lavonice: The word says, you were chosen before the foundation of the world.
• 9:02
  Constance Lavonice: The Holy Spirit helps us, ladies, to live in God's truth.
• 9:12
  Constance Lavonice: We can allow the Holy Spirit to guide our response.
• 9:19
  Constance Lavonice: So, what does this look like in practice?
• 9:24
  Constance Lavonice: And how do we apply it?
• 9:26
  Constance Lavonice: Whenever you experience a strong emotion, pause before you automatically respond.
• 9:37
  Constance Lavonice: Four steps.
• 9:40
  Constance Lavonice: First, identify your emotion.
• 9:46
  Constance Lavonice: Name it.
• 9:47
  Constance Lavonice: Ask yourself, what am I feeling right now?
• 9:53
  Constance Lavonice: Without judging it, without spiritualizing it, without immediately trying to get rid of it.
• 10:03
  Constance Lavonice: Just name it.
• 10:05
  Constance Lavonice: The second step, once the emotion is identified, is to think about it briefly.
• 10:16
  Constance Lavonice: Ask yourself, what happened that may have contributed to my feeling this way?
• 10:25
  Constance Lavonice: And what narrative am I telling myself?
• 10:29
  Constance Lavonice: For example, you text someone who opened your text but didn't respond right away.
• 10:40
  Constance Lavonice: Our emotions are not just based on what happened, but what we believe about what happened based on our assumptions.
• 10:51
  Constance Lavonice: So what's the narrative you're telling yourself?
• 10:56
  Constance Lavonice: Bring it to God.
• 10:58
  Constance Lavonice: That's the third step.
• 11:00
  Constance Lavonice: Bring it to God so that He can reveal the truth through the help of the Holy Spirit.
• 11:08
  Constance Lavonice: Ask God to help you to see the situation through his eyes and his truth.
• 11:15
  Constance Lavonice: Ask him to show you what you're believing that isn't consistent with his word and for God to give you wisdom on how to respond.
• 11:27
  Constance Lavonice: James chapter 1, verse 5 reminds us that if any of us likes wisdom, ask of God, who gives to all generously.
• 11:40
  Constance Lavonice: If you're feeling alone, remember Hebrews 13, 5.
• 11:46
  Constance Lavonice: I will never leave you or forsake you.
• 11:50
  Constance Lavonice: If you're feeling inadequate, remember 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 9.
• 11:58
  Constance Lavonice: My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
• 12:06
  Constance Lavonice: Make it a priority to read and meditate on God's word and allow God to reframe your experience so that you can choose your response based on God's word rather than reacting based on emotions.
• 12:28
  Constance Lavonice: Truth is truth even when you don't feel it.
• 12:35
  Constance Lavonice: You don't have to wait until you feel loved to believe that God loves you.
• 12:43
  Constance Lavonice: You don't have to feel worthy before you accept your identity in Christ.
• 12:51
  Constance Lavonice: So the next time you notice yourself wanting to react based on your feelings, pause.
• 13:00
  Constance Lavonice: Take a Whole Heart pause and identify your emotion.
• 13:09
  Constance Lavonice: Name it.
• 13:10
  Constance Lavonice: Secondly, once it's identified, think about it briefly and then ask yourself, what happened that may have contributed to my feeling this way?
• 13:26
  Constance Lavonice: And what narrative am I telling myself?
• 13:31
  Constance Lavonice: Thirdly, bring it to God so that He can reveal the truth with the help of the Holy Spirit.
• 13:41
  Constance Lavonice: Finally, choose to respond based on the truth rather than feelings.
• 13:50
  Constance Lavonice: Remember, God is working in you.
• 13:55
  Constance Lavonice: You're not doing this alone.
• 13:58
  Constance Lavonice: And if this message resonated with you, subscribe and join our community.
• 14:06
  Constance Lavonice: And don't forget to share it with a friend.
• 14:09
  Constance Lavonice: And Father God, I pray that each listener will take this message to heart and begin this week to live in God's truth, to know God's word, respond in God's truth, and walk in it despite the feeling.
• 14:33
  Constance Lavonice: In Jesus' name, amen.