Thoughts, Emotions and the Fight of Faith

I recently had a conversation with my good friend, Larry Hornsby, in which I was telling him about the very difficult times that Julie and I are going through in regard to our unborn little girl, Magdalena. I told him that it is very hard for us knowing that we have several more months of dealing with the fact that our little baby will most likely either be stillborn or will die shortly after being born. This has made us very emotional with a lot of ups and downs. There are times when we are overcome with grief and we start crying at unlikely times as something reminds us of what we are going through. I quoted to Larry a line in a song by U2 which says that feelings are stronger than thoughts. Larry quickly told me that that is not true. Thoughts are ultimately stronger.

I think that Larry is right, but there is also some truth to what Bono says. Emotions hit us hard and seem to be less in our control than thoughts. Many emotions carry along with them a real physical response that only adds to their strength. However, for the most part, our emotions can be greatly influenced by how and what we think. I think this is why the Bible commands emotions all over the place and also why we have such a hard time accepting that God commands us to have certain emotions. I believe that right thinking about this world and particularly about God can greatly change the way that we feel about things.

Some emotions are almost always sinful. This is very difficult to truly understand if we feel that we have little or no control over our emotions. For example, jealousy is a very powerful emotion that starts in early childhood and, for many of us, continues right through adulthood. Often, it goes unchecked and can lead to a great many other sinful thoughts and behaviors. It is something that I certainly struggle with in all kinds of situations. But recently I have learned to battle jealousy through right thinking about God and his glorious promises to always take care of me. If I am willing to preach to myself that I am in his perfect hands and meditate on that fact, I can easily overcome that feeling of jealousy and turn it into feelings of joy and peace in God as my wondeful Father.

Another example is impatience. This one is extremely powerful, especially in our American culture. R.C. Sproul says that impatience is a direct attack against the sovereignty of God. I think that he is exactly right and that in that statement is the key to overcoming the sin of impatience. If I spend my time while I am stuck in traffic meditating on the fact that God is totally in control and that he put every one of those cars in my way at the very moment that I was in a hurry to get somewhere, the ugly feelings of impatience go back to wherever they came from and I find myself at peace in what could have been a very negative experience. I think this is very God-honoring.

The more I meditate on the fact that all things work together for good for those of us in Christ, the easier it is to deal with the grief of knowing that my first daughter will almost certainly pass away shortly after or before even being born. Also, knowing that His grace is sufficient and that His mercies are new every morning is wonderfully relaxing because I can rest in the fact that throughout the coming heartache, he will be there for me to strengthen and comfort me. This is what John Piper calls faith in future grace and I have found this understanding of God’s relationship to us profoundly life changing. This is also a daily battle that must be waged in prayer and meditation on God’s Word. This is what Paul calls the fight of faith. The battle is tremendously difficult at times, but the more we think and meditate on the great and glorious truths about God, the more we are able to experience the great peace and joy that are promised to us, even in the midst of great sadness.

Please pray that our thoughts and emotions will be greatly God-honoring and soul-satisfying in this very difficult time for us.