worship not feelings

Even my utmost caution
will never stop catastrophe.

No matter how hard I try.
I can strive to walk the tightrope
of good, clean living,

I can go to church,
get involved,
serve and give,

I can work hard,
be honest,
stay out of controversy,
and still...
find myself at a loss
as to how someone else's
actions led to my misfortune.

And in that frustration,
I can let my feelings dictate
my future, wondering...
why am I standing here
with a lump in my throat
ready to scream at the world...

How is this fair?
When will this end?
Where do I turn?
And, the inevitable...
Why me?

I mean I'd totally get it...
if I stepped out of line,
if I did something wrong,
if I failed to keep my promise
and walls came tumbling upon me.

But when I face trouble
due to someone else's lapse...
it's always been much harder for me
to stop the angry,
finger-pointing thoughts
that simply swirled incessantly
and made me want to give up.

Until finally, I realized,
that I was worshiping my feelings,
more than I was worshiping my God.

And really when did my feelings...
or anyone's for that matter,
CHANGE anything?

When did feelings
create an entire universe
at just the utterance of divine words?

When did feelings
cause order and rhythm...
raising the sun to light the day,
to also reflect off the moon,
giving light by night
among the brilliant stars?

When did feelings
love so greatly that they gave
a life lived to perfection
for my pitiful sins?
It wasn't feeling
that moved God to do so,

Because His love is not
anything like the flimsy feeling
we call love.

His love is active
humble,
faithful,
obedient,
powerful,
selfless,
overwhelming, and
true.

Feelings are actually overrated.
So why do I worship them?

When God has given me example
of others who have stepped outside
their feelings into action,
remained humble, faithful and obedient.

Why not follow those examples...
learn how those people
stopped trusting feelings
and placed their faith in God?
For then they realized selflessness,
which overwhelmed their circumstances
and stood up for truth.

Once such example,
is found in the life of Daniel.
Here was a young man who had
every reason to wallow in feeling...
anger, fear, and finger-pointing frustration.

If you read yesterday's post,
you know that Daniel had been taken
captive from Judah to Babylon
by King Nebuchadnezzar.

And he, along with three companions
were considered to be very wise.
They were added to a group of young leaders
to be trained and groomed
for service to the king.

But then as we read on, the king awoke,
troubled and disturbed by a very bad dream.
He called for the magicians, sorcerers,
wizards, and astrologers to come forward
to help him make sense of his dream.

However, the king didn't want anyone
telling him just anything to appease him.
He was concerned that they were not
authentic in their abilities.
So he became very insistent
that if these were such wise people,
they would not only be able to interpret
the dream, but should actually
know what it was
before he told any part of it.

IMPOSSIBLE!
And that's what they told him.
To which, King Nebuchadnezzar
became furious and commanded
that all the wise men be put to death.

Actually, I believe it was...
if you do not make known
the dream to me,
and its interpretation,
you shall be cut in pieces,
and your houses shall be
made an ash heap. Daniel 2:5
But dead, nonetheless.

And, since this was a decree about
all the wise men...
this included Daniel
and his three companions.

Hmmm, so, the situation...
Daniel worked hard,
was honest,
stayed out of controversy,
and still...
found himself at a loss
as to how someone else's
actions led to his misfortune.

So he was faced with a choice.
He could behave as many of us do
letting our feelings dictate our future
wondering, why am I standing here
with a lump in my throat
ready to scream at the world...

How is it fair?
When will it end?
Where do I turn?
And, the inevitable...
Why me?

Or...
he could acknowledge his feelings
for what they were,
Realizing that they will never
change, create, or bring order
to his situation.

He could turn his worship
away from his feelings
and toward his God.

Now I'm not saying that Daniel didn't
recognize the depth of the circumstance.
For I doubt he just jumped for joy and
thought, Oh, good, here's a chance
to challenge my positive outlook on life.

No, I bet he was plenty bothered that
he and his friends were given
a death sentence unfairly.

And most likely, just like you and me,
he had feelings that flooded his mind
with all sorts of wild thought.

But it's clear that he didn't stay there
in the worship of those feelings.
He didn't let his thought life
spiral out of control...
as often does mine.

Daniel chose instead,
to move into action.
Daniel put feet to his faith
and walked right past his feelings.

He approached the captain of the guard,
the very one given command to kill
all the wise men, and...
He boldly asked about the urgency
of the king's decision.

He requested an audience before the king
and asked for more time to determine the dream.

He then went home, told his friends,
who joined him and prayed...
-for mercies from God concerning the need
-and protection from harm.
And when the answer came in a vision to Daniel,
before anything else...
Daniel blessed God in Heaven
-gave all glory to God above all
-recognized His control
​ -praised His wisdom
-acknowledged His revelation
-thanked Him in advance for answers
-thanked Him even for his opponent

Only then, did Daniel step forward in faith
to deliver the vision
God had given hm for the king
who then asked...
Are you able to make known to me
the dream which I have seen,
and its interpretation?”
Daniel answered in the presence
of the king, and said,
“The secret which the king
has demanded, the wise men,
the astrologers, the magicians, and
the soothsayers cannot declare to the king.
But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets...
Daniel 2:26-28

So Daniel did not take credit
for the vision which he was about to speak.
For he gave all glory first to God.

Then Daniel spoke the dream
and it's interpretation
as God had given him to the King.
​
Then King Nebuchadnezzar
fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel,
and commanded that they should
present an offering and incense to him.
The king answered Daniel, and said,
"Truly your God is the God of gods,
the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets,
since you could reveal this secret.
Daniel 2:46-47

And the king promoted Daniel
and showered him with many great gifts,
giving him high ranking position
in the land.

But Daniel did not accept worship
fir this revelation, but gave glory to God.
And Daniel did not forget his friends,
for he petitioned for them as well
to give them favor and future in the kingdom.

This, truly an amazing turn of events.
Daniel certainly could have stood about
in his quarters, wringing his hands with worry,
wondering when would come his time to die.

But instead, he trusted God... completely.
And look at all the lives he saved.
Even when someone else's actions
were about to cause catastrophe in his life,
he made choices that brought blessings to theirs.

So was there a magic formula,
some great Five-Step process that we too
can follow to always turn things around?

Obviously not one that we can slap together
and package for an infomercial.
But certainly looking at the order of his action
could give us some clues as to how better
to behave when we face such difficulty in life.

Here's what I saw Daniel do:
1. He boldly asked
2. Went home, included his friends/family
3. They joined him and prayed...
-mercies from God concerning the need
-and protection from harm.
And when the answer came...
before anything else...
4. Daniel blessed God in Heaven (v20-23)
-gave all glory to God above all
-recognized His control
​ -praised His wisdom
-acknowledged His revelation
-thanked Him in advance for answers
-thanked Him even for his opponent

Everything Daniel did
was centered around God and others.
None of those steps were selfish
or devised to only promote his feelings.

And even when he delivered the vision to the king
he gave all the credit to God.
That alone, caused the king to bow
and acknowledge our God as Lord.
Something he had never considered before.

What an amazing example.
What a wise young man, indeed.

When I am in the middle of circumstances,
that cause the flood of feelings which overwhelm.
am I choosing not to dwell on them?

Today, I am deciding to be
more like Daniel.
I will worship God
more than my feelings.

I will be bold in asking...
clarifying my problem,
asking God to help me
sort fact from feeling.

I will tell others of my need
and we will pray, pray, pray.

And when my answer comes,
before I move into action,
I will bless God, thanking Him
for all His mercies.
​
And even IN the action,
I will choose to give Him all glory.

Word of God
train me, today...
To daily realize that my feelings
will never change, create or bring order.
To put feet to my faith, walking forward
​in worship of God alone.