What Are You Feeling?

Mar 02, 2020

Making Godly Decisions

So, we’re at the beginning of a series of blog posts looking at biblical questions to ask when making a decision. I’ve laid some groundwork by talking about my decision making journey, the importance of understanding the way the Bible talks about God’s will, and by talking about a foundational question to ask in every decision. Now, we’re going to dive into some particular questions.

Paul’s Difficult Decision

As I wrestled through my own decision-making process, I came across this verse and it struck me in a new way. In this passage, Paul lays out this glorious principle that “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” That’s where I typically spend my time meditating. Yet, in the midst of struggling to make a decision, I noticed something else.

Paul says, “Yet, which I shall choose I cannot tell. I’m hard pressed between the two.” (Phil 1:22-23). Paul is struggling to make a decision. He has a couple choices laid out in front of him and he doesn’t know which one to choose. I found that helpful for a couple reasons. First, I found comfort knowing that the apostle Paul was having a similar struggle as myself—wrestling between two decisions. Second, I found it helpful as a tool to think about HOW he went about making his decision. I asked, “What did Paul DO when faced with a difficult question? What questions did he ask himself?”

Paul’s Feelings/Desires

One of the first things I noticed is that Paul talks about his “desires”—his feelings. He recognizes that his feelings are impacting him. He says, “My desire is to depart and be with Christ…” (Phil 2:23). His longing to be with Christ is influencing his decision-making process. So, he recognizes that fact and lays it on the table.

Our Feelings/Desires

It think it’s important for us to be honest and open with the feelings/emotions that are influencing our decision-making process. Our feelings are always influencing every decision that we make. And—to be honest—they are not always influencing our decisions helpfully. Sometimes we are allowing fear, stress, and anxiety to influence our decisions. Whatever feelings/emotions are there, influencing our decision, we need to take some time to honestly evaluate what they are. Write them down and think through them.

Are They Biblical?

Then, after you’ve written these feelings/emotions down and evaluated them, you need to ask, “Are these feelings/emotions biblical?” That’s right. Just because you are feeling something, doesn’t mean you should be feeling that. Our emotions have also been infected with sin. So, we need to measure them against scripture. We are told to take every thought and make it captive to Christ (2 Cor 10:5). We also need to take every emotion and make it captive to Christ.

Paul does this. Paul desires to be with Christ, but knows that God has more work for him to do. So, he doesn’t allow his desire to lead him astray. He makes it captive to Christ and desires to faithfully labor amongst God’s people (Phil 2:22).

Biblical Emotions & Decisions

As we take our emotions captive and make them obedient to Jesus Christ, we want to make sure these biblical emotions are influencing our decision-making process. We do not want to be controlled by unbiblical emotions and led astray by them. We want to be driven by emotions that have been sanctified in Christ Jesus.

So, take the time to evaluate your emotions honestly, and the way they are influencing this decision. Write them down. Think through them. Then measure them against scripture. Refuse to allow unbiblical emotions to influence your decision. This is a good first step in making a Godly decision.

Jason Ruis

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