Sensing the voice of God through your feelings is wonderful and yet tricky at times. It's two fold in nature because you can experience it through physical touch or any other external thing or you can feel him in your emotions. This week as we continue our journey in discerning the voice of God through our senses, I would like to look at the sense of feeling or touch in a different light. This is only the first part of touch that I'd like us to look at. Next week, we will go a bit further into feeling him in atmospheres, people and other ways.
FEELING GOD PERSONALLY
Growing up in a Pentecostal church I would often witness people shake under the power of God. I too have had times of great shaking as I FELT God come upon me powerfully during times of seeking his face in prayer. For many who have not experienced God through their senses this way, it can seem a bit odd, although for me it is very normal. Isn't it interesting how each of us experience God differently, either in church or family settings? What has been your experience in sensing God through touch or in your feelings? Take a moment to process that as you read on.
Feelings from God :
shaking in your body or trembling lips
tears that cleanse or produce joy
heat in the body or hot hands (healing presence of God-his purifying fire)
weak knees (Holy Spirit)
feeling lighter in your emotions or body
tingling with goose bumps on your arms or body
the feeling of the weightiness of God's glory
unexplained sensations of peace, joy or love
a physical touch from someone when no one else was around
Feelings from your Adversary, the Devil:
heavy heart or heaviness in your chest
unease about a situation
a feeling of anxiety in your body from negative thoughts or emotions
digestive issues
the sense of loss-especially lost peace
sweaty palms
feelings or memories of pain or trauma from the past
feeling of failure or inadequacy
feeling of hopelessness or despair
nervousness
feeling confused or depressed
Quickly identify where your feelings are coming from. Begin to look at your feelings and talk about them with the Lord. Good or bad, they both require you to ask questions and look for answers. You can't dismiss your feelings-God gave them to you and you must learn how to identify what you are feeling through them.
FEELING CONFIDENT
We can feel confident as we talk with God in prayer because we have Jesus, our elder brother, making intercession on our behalf. We can feel confident knowing that we have the Holy Spirit on the inside of us empowering us and helping us in every way we need help. We can feel confident knowing that we have been given ministering spirits to help us, as we are heirs of salvation.
I have not physically seen angels that I am aware of, but I have felt their presence and their touch before, and even heard their wings moving. On a few occasions I wondered if I had entertained angels unaware, that looked like humans-as the scriptures say. I have seen sudden flashes of lights only to later discover from others ministers, that it was most likely an angel in that flash. So don't dismiss the presence of angels as a way God may be helping you. It causes a feeling of confidence to come on us. The bible is full of situations that involve angels and we are no different. God has an army of angels that he uses on a daily basis in the earth to help accomplish his purpose and will and we must discern their involvement, mainly as a source of encouragement for us.
But more than all of that, I so believe, that God understands how we feel. He may seem far away but he is not. He lives in us by Holy Spirit, and he knows what we are feeling at any given moment and is there to help us in those times, for he sympathizes with us in our feelings.
Jesus was made flesh the bible says and felt it all. He felt weakness, pain and sorrow, grief and suffering, as well as joy, love, peace and contentment. He was tempted in all points, just like you and I, yet he did not sin.
And no one understands the stinging feeling of betrayal more than Jesus does.
"But, behold, the hand of him who is now engaged in betraying Me is with Me on the table." Luke 22:21
Even in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus was hit with the feeling to give up and not go through with the cross.
"Saying, Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but [always] Yours be done. And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him in spirit. And being in an agony [of mind], He prayed [all the] more earnestly and intently, and His sweat became like great clots of blood dropping down upon the ground." Luke 22:42-44
Jesus felt the pressure of the cross weighing upon his mind, his body and his emotions, unto the point of sweating great drops of blood.
"For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning." Hebrews 4:15
God knows what you are going through beloved friends. He knows the pressure you experience on your job or in your home. He knows the temptation to give up and not fulfill your purpose of being here. He has felt the sting of betrayal and the sorrow of loving those who despised him and rejected him-just like you have. He knows it all and is praying for you.
Feeling and experiencing all these hard things can be overwhelming at times. God knows that. It takes patience and humility on our part to slow down and allow God to speak, rescue, and heal us in our times of weakness, trouble and despair, not just in the good times. We are not disembodied people-we are meant to feel things-especially God. Unfortunately we tend to focus on what's negative, but that will change the more we practice sensing God through our feelings. Our experience in discerning the voice of God in these times will enable and equip us to better help others process the voice of God too, through their emotions and feelings.
In the end, everyone just wants to feel and know that God hasn't left them, and we can assure them that He is indeed closer than they realize.
ACTION STEPS THIS WEEK:
Be honest about how you are feeling
Take time this week to slow down and identify the areas of concern are you discerning that you need to carry to the Lord this week-as he is your great high priest?
Ask the Lord to show you what you are sensing through your emotions or feelings that still needs definition. What aren't you understanding in other words.
Your sense of touch or feeling is an important way of communicating with God. Ask him to activate it in new ways so you can be more efficient and effective in discerning his presence and voice.
Practice helping others discern God's voice through what they are feeling