Walking By Faith, Not By Emotions (2 Cor. 5:7)

Bienhome Muivah *

MBC Centre Church, Imphal in November 2013 :: Pix - Gnet

Sometimes people who are living a very moral life and loving God with all their heart become discouraged and depressed because they are seeking something God never intended them to have. We have experienced as much of an emotional high in our relationship with God as anyone else. Even though that is a blessing, and we praise God for it and rejoice in it, it is not something that can be sustained twenty-four hours a day.

Faith is a product of the heart

God wants us to live by faith in Him, not by our emotions. Emotions tend to be dependent on our circumstances, which is the physical realm. Faith is a product of the heart, which is the spiritual realm.

Emotion can be touched by the devil. When negative things happen to us, we are going to be affected emotionally. There will be a fluctuation in our emotional state. But spiritual truth is eternal. When we start walking by faith instead of by feelings, we will be much more mature and stable.

The person who goes by the fact that they know God loves them because they have educated themselves through His Word and have based their life on it will sacrifice everything they have for the word. That person will have a superior walk with the individual who has a great relationship with God based on emotions. As soon as something goes wrong, the emotional person will start saying, "Has God left me? Has He quit loving me? Is He displeased with me for some reason?" They will end up on an emotional roller-coaster wondering what has happened and why God has seemingly forsaken them.

Danger of Emotional Addiction

There are many people who have had miraculous encounter with the Lord and who have allowed themselves to become addicted to the emotion that often accompanies that experience. They reject the negative emotions of depression and other such feelings that arise from carnal things, but when it comes to their relationship with God, they feel that something is wrong unless they are on a continual emotional height.

Emotional times do come, and we should praise God for them, but we can't live on that level. I don't believe God wants us to be on a constant search for emotional highs. He would much rather have us walk by faith, whether there is any emotion attached to it or not. That is what is known as emotional maturity.

Emotional Maturity

Emotions have become such a part of life today that some people think, "well, that's the way it should be (e.g. a newly wedded couple). You should be so much in love that you just can't function without thinking about each other. She is a wife you truly cherish her. You love her more now than you ever have, and through the years your emotions have nurtured. They are not the same.

God didn't design us to be totally emotionally dependent on anyone but Him. Does that mean that we should never have feelings for the spouse, or that when we fall in love we should be totally emotionless? No, I don't believe that at all. We all know emotion in romantic love is great and should be enjoyed, even after many years. But we should recognize the fact that, as time goes on, there is going to be a maturing process. Love is not all emotions.

The maturing process

The same principle of the maturing process in our relationship with people applies to our relationship with God.

Bridle your emotions

As we mature spiritually, we will also see a maturing take place in the natural. One of the most obvious is in the area of our emotions. Controlled emotions will be the result of spiritual maturity. There are some truths about horses that can apply to emotions as well. A horse is a very strong, powerful animal-much stronger than a human being. It's a huge animal with tremendous strength. Today, horses have largely been replaced by machines and vehicles, but in recent history, a horse was not just something for fun and entertainment, it was an essential.

Horses have played a very important part in history and in the development of civilization. They have enabled armies to win battles. They have given people more power, more mobility, and more strength than they could ever have had on their own. They have enabled people to do things they could never have done in their own physical ability.

So a horse is a powerful force, but at the same time, a horse has to be managed. A horse that is out of control can cause a great deal of destruction. Emotions are the same way. Under control, they make life great. They increase effectiveness and provide a great deal of satisfaction and joy. But out of control, emotions can be devastating.

We see examples of this constantly in the news media as we hear of people who are battling depression or some other negative emotion. There, we learn about the tragic effect, it is having on them. Emotions breed many problems in our society and in our own personal lives.

So, like a horse, emotions are powerful. They can be tremendously beneficial or they can be extremely destructive-even deadly. That is why, like a horse, they need to be bridled.

Walk By Faith!