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Grace Is Not About Our Feelings or Emotions
by Lani W. Finley

When we speak of salvation by grace, we should also consider what grace is not. It does not consist of our feelings and emotions, nor does it involve our ability to please God through our performance. It also is not about our self-image, or lack of self worth. No one is worthy of the free gift of salvation through Jesus. It is a gift from God, apart from our works.

It is about the redemptive work that Jesus performed upon the cross. His suffering, shed blood, death and resurrection to life. Grace is a fact - it is a reality. It has nothing to do with the senses of a human being. Feelings and emotions cannot be trusted and relied upon for truth. They are tied to our physical bodies and nature, and are outside the realm of spiritually revealed truth.

Feelings are the shallowest part of a human being. They can change every few minutes depending on our state of health, diet, sleeping habits and circumstances that surround us. If we really search our hearts, we cannot deny our feelings. As human beings, do we really feel like loving our enemies? Do we feel like praying for them, feeding them, and forgiving them? Not really. Our true human feelings cry out for revenge. It is not in our nature to love those that have injured us. Therefore, feelings should never be considered a proper measuring-stick for the truth.

Emotions are just reactions to our thoughts or circumstances. Neither can they be trusted for truth. Emotions have no brains; they are controlled by, and connected to our thoughts. Neither do they have a sense of time. They are mindless and can be tied to events that happened today, yesterday or may happen in the future. You can arouse an emotion by simply thinking about something, or someone, that you either love or hate. If you imagine someone hurting your child or spouse, you become angry, even though the event is not real. Likewise, if you recall a wonderful day you spent fishing with your dad, your emotions will respond with great joy and serenity.

Let us take a look at an illustration that might help us better understand the relationship between reality, our feelings and emotions. You are walking down the sidewalk and see a pedestrian that is fixing to step off the curb, into the path of passing car. You run as fast as you can, knock the stranger down to the pavement, and out of harm's way. However, the pedestrian did not see the oncoming car, and thinks that you have intentionally hurt him. His initial response may be one of anger, or fear. However, once he understood that you saved his life, by throwing him to the ground, the anger and fear quickly changes to gratitude and thanksgiving. Were his initial feelings and emotions truthful? Not until the they caught up with the truth in his thought process. Do we begin to see how emotions are only a tool of our thoughts, and how they have no sense of time or reality?

Sound feelings and emotions, can only be produces by sound thoughts. God's Word should be our only standard for obtaining sound thoughts. His Word is a fact. It has either taken place, or is promised by God to take place in the future. The integrity of His Word is at stake.

Carole Mayhall, beautifully summarizes this fact in her book, Help Lord, My Whole Life Hurts. Carole relates how we are to trust God, even when we do not feel it.

...God is teaching us a unique lesson, and it sifts down to this: God is God whether we feel Him or not. God's promises are true whether we experience them or not. His ways are far above our comprehension. He is too big for us to understand, or assess. Whether or not we hear or feel Him, we are to trust Him.

Grace should never be confused with our human nature, or senses. Our salvation took place on the cross nearly two thousand years ago and is available to all those that honestly seek redemption. Jesus finished the work of salvation and has "sat down on the right hand of God." It is not based upon our emotional state, or how we may feel at any given moment.

It is very pleasing to God for His children to worship Him with great emotions and feelings; if they are established upon truth, and not sensationalism. Emotions and feelings can be whipped-up into frenzy, although they may be based on lies. They cannot distinguish between lies and the truth. Therefore, we should never use them as a barometer for measuring truth. We must make sure that our enthusiasm for God is grounded in His Word - not human sensations. It is important to remember that the Bible speaks to our minds, not our feelings or emotions. Jesus is our only hope of glory, whether we feel it or not.

Several of the analogies used in this article gathered from
Mr. Bob George, Growing in Grace.