We all know well-intentioned people who, when they agree to do something you ask, are unlikely to follow through. As nice as they are, they’re unreliable. Your feelings are like that; much of the time you can’t count on them because they’re not attuned to what’s best for you. They’re more interested in having their own way.

For example, our feelings can get us excited about going shopping when we don’t have the money to spend. They entice us to eat cheesecake when we’re trying to avoid extra calories. They lead us to stay up late at night working or watching a movie, when we know we need to get up early the next day. In short, our feelings are fickle. They change like the wind. Yet it’s amazing how much power we give them in our lives.

As believers, we have something wiser and more dependable to rely on than our feelings, and that’s the Word of God. When we feel strongly about something, it’s not always easy to determine whether or not we’re in agreement with God about it. Jeremiah tells us, ‘The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows… it? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives.’ (Jeremiah 17:9–10 NLT) And He does it through His Word, which ‘is sharper than any two-edged sword… exposing and sifting and analysing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.’ (Hebrews 4:12 AMPC)

Here’s the score: if you’re truly interested in rising above your feelings, you’ll let the Word of God be the determining factor in all your decisions.