Think Again!

Chapter 13: The Practice of Forging: Getting the RawMaterial • 115

vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places” (Hab. 3.17-19). What begins with shattered emotion, ends with affirmation of truth. God clearly uses our feelings to lead us into truth, to forge his identity in us. Feelings without Guilt Some people teach that we should only say positive things, that verbalizing our fears will somehow cause them to happen. This is not the pattern of Scripture. Emotions are a blessing from the Lord because they uncover where the healing of God’s word can be applied. The Spirit can encourage you in your weakness as you freely express your feelings without guilt. You cause yourself harm by ignoring your feelings. When people say, “You shouldn’t feel the way you do,” it is a form of rejection. 63 God does not ignore our feelings and he requires us to respect the feelings of others when he says to “weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12.15). It is far better to give full inventory of your feelings than to ignore or suppress them. It is foolish to ignore a dashboard light indicator by covering it up with tape. So pay attention to your emotions, and encourage others to do the same. Freeway Traffic Map One way to think about Gather Subjectively is to visualize a traffic map shown on the television news or the Internet. Living in Los Angeles as I do requires frequent reference to the congestion of Southern California freeways. Some routes are red (slow traffic), some are yellow (less than normal speed), and others are green (normal speeds). A quick assessment of all the traffic situations informs an effective transportation strategy.