The Disease of Feelings: Is there a cure?

How do you feel? What are you feeling? I don't feel like doing that. Why do we speak in ways that reflect how we feel? I once heard someone ask, "If you had a friend who constantly lied to you. If they caused you to do things that you knew were wrong and flat out confused you at times; you wouldn't want to hang out with that person would you? You certainly would have a hard time trusting them or wouldn't trust them at all. Right? Well, that's exactly what our feelings do to us!" You know what? She was right!!! Far too often, I find myself and the people I am around talking about things and conveying them as if our feelings truly mattered. That thought has become somewhat discouraging to me because I have learned that my feelings, in the grand scheme of things, don't truly matter. How can you say that, some people may ask? Well it's simple; our feelings are like the weather. Just because it's raining and you may prefer to run when it's nice does not mean you still can't go running. You may get a little wet and perhaps it's more uncomfortable than you truly like. If you dress properly for the activity, there is no reason why you still can't have a productive run without the worry of catching a cold or being injured. Ok, but you don't understand, I really can't go running when it's raining out. Alright, if that's the case, then you realize it may not be raining tomorrow and you make new plans accordingly. The point is we don't have to be hindered or injured by our feelings any more than we have to "suffer" or endure the consequences associated with running in the rain. The first step though is to acknowledge it's "raining"! I must confess that I have allowed my "feelings" to dictate my behavior for many years. As a result, some of my actions have been less than positive. Ok, they have been flat out despicable. I don't want to be misunderstood, feelings aren't' bad. I have come to understand that our feelings should be viewed as tools. Why? There is such a thing as intuition. How we use the "feeling" of intuition can be the "key" that determines what "doors" we open. Another word to describe intuition is discernment. While I understand that my feelings often cannot be trusted, I must still use discernment. That is where God comes in! By staying in tune with Him and remaining grounded in His word, we are better able to decipher which things are coming to us from God and His Spirit and which things are not. God is not the author of confusion but of peace (1 Cor. 14:33), therefore if our feelings are causing confusion, we should take notice and use extreme caution. Is there a cure? Yes there is, it's the Word of God!