Experiencing God's Presence #51

Experiencing God's Presence #51

He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

Mark 6:34

Many people think feelings have nothing to do with discipleship—that we study God’s Word and apply it, nothing more. But Jesus was moved with compassion on many occasions, felt anger toward hypocrisy and greed, wept over Jerusalem and those grieving at Lazarus’s tomb, and offered up prayers with loud crying and tears (Hebrews 5:7). This incarnation of God, the exact representation of the Father, had deep feelings. Part of being Christlike means being emotional.

God calls us to feel His feelings, to be in sync with His heartbeat. And one of the clearest expressions of His heart is His compassion. When we are feeling compassion, we are feeling like God. And when we are in His Presence, His love will be stirred up in us. The more love we have, the more we sense the Presence. And the more we sense the Presence, the more love we have. Our communion with God grows tighter when we begin to feel like Him.

If you’ve felt distant from God, perhaps this is why. Most Christian teaching emphasizes knowing God’s Word and applying it. If our minds aren’t aligned with God, we conform them to the image of Christ. If our behavior isn’t aligned with Him, we conform it to the image of Christ. But if our feelings aren’t aligned with Him, we say feelings don’t matter anyway. And that’s discipleship with only two-thirds of the soul. It isn’t enough.

Make it a high priority to synchronize your heart with God’s emotions. He has them—lots of them. If we don’t feel the way He feels, we aren’t as Christlike as we think we are. Cultivate your heart, and your mind and actions will follow. You will grow into His Presence in ways you never have before.

Lord, I want to feel Your emotions. You promised a new heart; please put Your feelings within me. In every relationship I have, let me be moved with compassion just as Jesus was.