Thrill seekers beware: God-given emotions, like doctrine, can be counterfeited by the great deceiver

THE IDOL OF EMOTIONALISM

Emotions are a vital part of the Christian experience. The remorse for sin leads to repentance. The thrill of praise enhances our worship. The gratitude for salvation spurs us on to obedience. But God-given emotions, like doctrine, can be counterfeited by the great deceiver, Satan. When this happens, when we seek the feelings associated with worship rather than God Himself, our emotions become an idol.

Certainly conversion itself is a dramatic, life-changing experience, but not all conversions have the emotional impact of the apostle Paul's, or Augustine's, or John Calvin's or Martin Luther's. For some who come up in the church, accepting Christ comes as naturally as breathing. They do not have to go through hell before they come to God. And who is to say their experience with Christ is any less valid than that of one whose life was on the brink of destruction before they found the Lord?

Beware of substituting the love of feelings and drama and emotion for the love of God. Some of us come to Him in tears; others in quiet surrender. Some come running, others walk, others are led by another, but the end result is the same. The bottom line is this: God is sovereign, and He will do it His way. It's not about how we feel—it's about who He is. We are not to tell God what to do...we are simply to report to Him for orders.

MEMORY VERSE

1 John 1:2 And we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us.

Dr. Ed Young
WINNING WALK