Giving Our Feelings to God

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. — Isaiah 43:19

Feelings can make or break a habit.

For better or worse, our emotions carry a great deal of influence over how we choose to act. When fear gets in the way, we become impulsive and reactive, losing sight of what God has for us. We trade in the rich, new thing He promised for a cheaper replica.

So how do we know this new thing is happening? We put our senses to work. We see and feel what God has set in motion.

The Father intimately knows your needs, and He will provide for them. Prepare your heart to experience the good He has for you.

Conditioning the Heart

For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. — Hebrews 4:12 AMP

Every new year, people resolve to be healthier. Gym memberships skyrocket along with the sales of athleisure wear. A month or two later, ambition has faded, the gym crowds have thinned out, and athleisure is just a style. We wait for a more pressing call to action to pick up healthy habits... or we wait for the next new year.

So it goes with an on-again, off-again relationship with the Word. Even though we feel lost, overwhelmed, or burdened day after day, our Bibles sit untouched.

• To condition your heart, you need to spend time reading the Bible.

This week’s verses reveal both the power of God’s Word and why you might shy away from it — because sometimes confronting the truth hurts. But conditioning your heart this way will give you energy, make you whole, and bring you into alignment with God’s heart.

Use this week to meditate on a Bible passage. Read it every day.

What is God saying to you in this passage? Listen for His voice.

Change Needs Roots

But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. — Jeremiah 17:7-8 NLT

It’s a fact: hard times are going to come. And when your resources begin to dry up, you’ll need to connect to your life source. (Remember that stream God promised in the wasteland in Isaiah 43:19?)

Jeremiah reminds us that those who trust in God are blessed, like a tree with deep roots. But God wants more for you than mere survival.

• He wants to see you thrive, which can only happen when you tap into His life-giving goodness.

As you start to carry out your habits, check in with your heart. Remember, the fruits of the Spirit you’ll produce as a result of your habit will not only yield actions like love and self-control; they’ll also give you feelings of joy and peace. When our roots reach deep into God’s love, the effort to change comes with more ease. As a result, more fruit follows.

What hardships are you experiencing in this season? Choose one to trust God with this week.

Have you been able to make small changes? Have you seen or felt the fruits of those changes?

Excerpted with permission from The Weekly Habits Project, copyright Zondervan.

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Your Turn

If we’re going to change our habits, we’re going to have to engage our hearts because our feelings can make our break habits. Get into the Word of God and let Him inform your feelings this coming year! ~ Devotionals Daily