Bring Your Feelings Back

I’m taking you guys to church today. 

Get those panty hose on, dust off that big ‘ol church hat and put on your most comfortable heels. 

Or just stay in your undies. I can’t see you anyway. 

I’ve been studying the book of Psalms for most of this year and today I studied Psalm 140. 

This Psalm was written by David. The guy who was an overlooked shepherd boy, a giant slayer hero, a king and the chosen bloodline for Jesus Christ himself. 

David is my favorite bible human because he was a poet and I love poetry. I also love David because I have learned so much from him by just observing how he handled the chaos that life brought upon him as well as the disasters he created for himself. 

This Psalm is titled, “Deliver Me, O Lord, From Evil Men.” 

David is in trouble (David was almost always in trouble) and in verses 1-4 he is asking God for help. He asks God to deliver him, preserve him, and guard him against the evil/violent men who are after him. 

They were after him because they were jealous and wanted to kill him in case you’re wondering. David had some serious haters.

When I observe the way that David expressed himself to God, it inspires me to invite God into my mess and to ask him for help. 

There’s something about my ego that wants to just remain silent as I drown in my suffering, shame or trouble. 

It takes balls to ask for help. It takes vulnerability. David was extremely vulnerable, raw and real about his mess. I love that. It encourages me to cry out whenever I need it. 

Let’s take a look at verse 6. 

“I say to the LORD, You are my God; give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!” 

In this declaration, David is reminding himself of who God is as well as making a request. He reminds himself of two things : 

One : “The LORD” 

When David says, “I say to the Lord.” He is, in that moment, focusing on who it is that he is directing his words to. He’s not speaking to just anybody. He is speaking to thee Lord. 

The Lord of all, who holds all power, the highest, most honorable deity, the creator of heaven, earth, you and I. 

Two : David says, “You are my God.” 

He’s personalizing the grandeur that is God. This, is also an affirmation for David in this moment and it can serve as an affirmation for us as well. It holds so much truth. 

It means that, all of who God is, all of that love, all of that miracle working power, all of that wonder is on our side. 

David’s God is our God and David went from being a nobody to being one of the greatest kings. That’s good news for us. 

At any moment, as we focus, work diligently and abide in Him, our lives can be transformed. 

Each day holds infinite possibilities. 

Another verse that stood out to me was verse 7. 

“O LORD, my LORD, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle.” 

In this verse, David is looking back, remembering the last time God came through for him in a difficult season or moment in time. 

Looking back at all of the things that God has done for us is vital for our faith. 

David is going through hell right now, he needs God’s help and instead of falling into despair he remembers the facts of the past. 

If God came to the rescue before? Why not now? 

Why not this battle? 

Why not, if God’s power never fades? Why not, if God remains the same? 

CLEARLY, my job, as a child of God, is to remember, declare, give thanks and exalt my Lord. 

It’s not always easy. I know it WAS NOT easy for David either. He was literally on the run from people trying to murder him. 

Homeboy was hiding in caves!

Yet, he made a choice to look at his God rather than his terrifying circumstance. 

Throughout this book he also expresses his emotions, cries, gets upset and impatient. A human after all. But after he expresses himself, with fresh tears dripping from his chin, he looks up and makes a choice to trust God. 

In verse 12, he says, “I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy.” 

Notice how David said, “I know.” 

Knowing doesn’t require or come along with a “mighty feeling.” A fact has nothing to do with how you feel. A fact is a fact. 

Period. 

Let’s look a one last verse, 13, “Surely, the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence.” 

David said, “Surely” not “Maybe.”

Knowing and feeling are two separate things. 

Our job is bring our feelings back to our knowledge. 

We do that by talking to God, meditating on God’s character, remembering what God has done, declaring what we know to be true and exalting our knowledge of who God is over our feelings. 

Feelings change constantly but God never does. 

Do you need to bring your feelings back to your knowledge today? 

The knowledge : God will never leave you. You are loved beyond your wildest imagination. God is for you not against you. God's mercy is new every morning. He has good plans for your future with no intention to hurt you. All things work together for those who love God. 

This knowledge isn’t in our brains for us to sound cute or fancy or smart. It is there for us to bring our feelings back to this place of knowingness when our feelings drift far away into worry, sadness, fear or doubt.  

To this place that knows that everything will be more than okay because of who is in charge. 

The cool part of it all is that we can always increase our knowledge by meditating on it and just taking the time to talk to God. These moments let us KNOW that we have 24/7 access to the most powerful source. The source that made the universe. 

C’MON! That’s a big deal!

We’re going to be just fine my friends. Let’s bring our feelings back to our knowledge today. 

I pray that God gives us the courage to lay our emotions down in His loving presence, express our deepest truth and remember who He is regardless of what we are facing.