How Do We Know If God Really Loves Us
How Do We Know If God Really Loves Us?
By: Dr. Danny Purvis
We live in an emotions-based society. So much so that we have gotten to the point where it’s not the veracity of a thing that matters…but rather how we feel about that thing is what is most important. A famous theologian once said: “What do you do with a culture that listens with its eyes…and reasons with its heart?” The short answer to that question is…there’s not much we can do except change our approach. If something is real…if it is truth…if it is objectively provable…to be honest, how we feel about it doesn’t ultimately matter.
In our society today, feelings have become a bit of a demi-god. It is capable of getting us to believe that feelings can alter truth, fact, undeniable reality. How I feel about a thing (especially things that are patently hurtful or uncomfortable) becomes the determiner of how true that thing is. Feelings have become an arbiter of the truth…when nothing could be further than the truth. Why? Feelings are notoriously unreliable. They are part of our fallen nature. They can be (and often are) wrong, deceived, and manipulated. This is almost always invoked, however, when the thing is something that makes us uncomfortable, gives us pain, of induces suffering. Some of the worst advice one Believer can give to another Believer is: “Follow your heart”. Why would we do that? Especially in light of Jeremiah 17:9 where Jeremiah states: “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
From God’s mouth to our ears. Here He is telling us in amazingly clear language that the heart (our source of feelings) is completely untrustworthy. Which is why Ezekiel quotes God telling us: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put withing you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).” But that doesn’t mean that we will not still struggle with feelings and using them as a barometer of what is true and what is not. We (Believers) should know better…but we struggle with this. Why? Because feelings are powerful. Capable of lifting us to heights of joy and plunging us into depths of utter despair. They are necessary and they are powerful. What they are not, however, are arbiters of truth. And this can real-life ramifications for the Christian.
Because when we are suffering…when we are in pain…when we are severely disappointed, that’s when the feelings kick in. And they kick hard. Look, emotions are good things. Helpful things. Necessary things. God created them. They serve a purpose. But they are part of the Fall. They are part of our fallen nature. And we should treat them as such. They can be a very valuable tool…but only for the right purpose. A pair of scissors is an excellent tool. But if you’re trying to drive a nail into a 2x4, they are useless. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad tool…it just means that it’s the wrong tool for that job. Feelings/emotions are a good tool. But not for determining whether something is true or not. Feelings at that point simply do not factor in. It is interesting to note that the prophet Malachi addresses this in the opening verses of his powerful letter.
Malachi’s prophecy came at a pivotal moment in Israel’s history. This took place somewhere around 440 BC. It had been 100 years since the end of the Babylonian Captivity…the most harsh judgement God had directed to His people. The Temple had been rebuilt about 60-70 years prior and that was a good thing. However, there were also a lot of not so good things. As a nation, they had not reacquired their former glory. They were still under the dictatorship of a pagan empire (the Persians). Their economy was bad. Their food production was bad. They were an afterthought among the other nations. And felt really bad about that. They felt things should have been better. They were despondent, isolated, downtrodden. And they felt every bit of that.
And you know what? They should have felt that way. Nobody is expected to feel happy about pain, suffering, and calamity. It is not natural for us to feel good about the things in our lives that bring us pain and disappointment. So, it wasn’t the feelings Malachi was talking about. It was how the people let their feelings lead them into believing something that wasn’t true. That’s the point. Malachi begins interestingly. God immediately tells them, “I have loved you.” And then He states what they have been feeling this entire time when He says: ”But you say, ‘How have you loved us’?” There it is. There is the problem right there. God had told His people since Abraham how much He loved them. However, because they were in such dire straits, they felt as if He did not. The feelings of pain were fine. They were understandable. What was not fine is that they trusted their feelings rather than the truth of God’s Word.
In these opening verses God gives them four reasons why they should trust Him rather than how they felt about what was happening to them. They were basically asking how they could be sure He really loved them. God said four things. I said so. I chose you. I forgive your sins. I opened your eyes to the truth of Who I Am. All things they had been told for literally thousands of years. And you know what? Their calamities…their pain…and the feelings associate with them does not negate the truth of His Word. His truth supersedes our circumstances. This is vitally important to us. Why?
Because terrible things will happen to us (Believers) all throughout our lives. We are promised that all through His Word. He tells us bad things, outside of our control, will rain down upon us. We live in a fallen world…and we are not exempt from the pain and disappointment of this world. What He promises us is that He will never leave nor forsake us. He is with us always. All things work together for good. That we are His adopted children. That one day we will be with Him. No terrible thing that happens to us affects that truth regardless of what it feels like. So, if you’re asking (and you may not be) if I would rather trust my feelings about my situation or His solemn, unbreakable promise…well…I’ll let you guess which I’d rather trust.
-Dr. Danny Purvis
By: Dr. Danny Purvis
We live in an emotions-based society. So much so that we have gotten to the point where it’s not the veracity of a thing that matters…but rather how we feel about that thing is what is most important. A famous theologian once said: “What do you do with a culture that listens with its eyes…and reasons with its heart?” The short answer to that question is…there’s not much we can do except change our approach. If something is real…if it is truth…if it is objectively provable…to be honest, how we feel about it doesn’t ultimately matter.
In our society today, feelings have become a bit of a demi-god. It is capable of getting us to believe that feelings can alter truth, fact, undeniable reality. How I feel about a thing (especially things that are patently hurtful or uncomfortable) becomes the determiner of how true that thing is. Feelings have become an arbiter of the truth…when nothing could be further than the truth. Why? Feelings are notoriously unreliable. They are part of our fallen nature. They can be (and often are) wrong, deceived, and manipulated. This is almost always invoked, however, when the thing is something that makes us uncomfortable, gives us pain, of induces suffering. Some of the worst advice one Believer can give to another Believer is: “Follow your heart”. Why would we do that? Especially in light of Jeremiah 17:9 where Jeremiah states: “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
From God’s mouth to our ears. Here He is telling us in amazingly clear language that the heart (our source of feelings) is completely untrustworthy. Which is why Ezekiel quotes God telling us: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put withing you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).” But that doesn’t mean that we will not still struggle with feelings and using them as a barometer of what is true and what is not. We (Believers) should know better…but we struggle with this. Why? Because feelings are powerful. Capable of lifting us to heights of joy and plunging us into depths of utter despair. They are necessary and they are powerful. What they are not, however, are arbiters of truth. And this can real-life ramifications for the Christian.
Because when we are suffering…when we are in pain…when we are severely disappointed, that’s when the feelings kick in. And they kick hard. Look, emotions are good things. Helpful things. Necessary things. God created them. They serve a purpose. But they are part of the Fall. They are part of our fallen nature. And we should treat them as such. They can be a very valuable tool…but only for the right purpose. A pair of scissors is an excellent tool. But if you’re trying to drive a nail into a 2x4, they are useless. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad tool…it just means that it’s the wrong tool for that job. Feelings/emotions are a good tool. But not for determining whether something is true or not. Feelings at that point simply do not factor in. It is interesting to note that the prophet Malachi addresses this in the opening verses of his powerful letter.
Malachi’s prophecy came at a pivotal moment in Israel’s history. This took place somewhere around 440 BC. It had been 100 years since the end of the Babylonian Captivity…the most harsh judgement God had directed to His people. The Temple had been rebuilt about 60-70 years prior and that was a good thing. However, there were also a lot of not so good things. As a nation, they had not reacquired their former glory. They were still under the dictatorship of a pagan empire (the Persians). Their economy was bad. Their food production was bad. They were an afterthought among the other nations. And felt really bad about that. They felt things should have been better. They were despondent, isolated, downtrodden. And they felt every bit of that.
And you know what? They should have felt that way. Nobody is expected to feel happy about pain, suffering, and calamity. It is not natural for us to feel good about the things in our lives that bring us pain and disappointment. So, it wasn’t the feelings Malachi was talking about. It was how the people let their feelings lead them into believing something that wasn’t true. That’s the point. Malachi begins interestingly. God immediately tells them, “I have loved you.” And then He states what they have been feeling this entire time when He says: ”But you say, ‘How have you loved us’?” There it is. There is the problem right there. God had told His people since Abraham how much He loved them. However, because they were in such dire straits, they felt as if He did not. The feelings of pain were fine. They were understandable. What was not fine is that they trusted their feelings rather than the truth of God’s Word.
In these opening verses God gives them four reasons why they should trust Him rather than how they felt about what was happening to them. They were basically asking how they could be sure He really loved them. God said four things. I said so. I chose you. I forgive your sins. I opened your eyes to the truth of Who I Am. All things they had been told for literally thousands of years. And you know what? Their calamities…their pain…and the feelings associate with them does not negate the truth of His Word. His truth supersedes our circumstances. This is vitally important to us. Why?
Because terrible things will happen to us (Believers) all throughout our lives. We are promised that all through His Word. He tells us bad things, outside of our control, will rain down upon us. We live in a fallen world…and we are not exempt from the pain and disappointment of this world. What He promises us is that He will never leave nor forsake us. He is with us always. All things work together for good. That we are His adopted children. That one day we will be with Him. No terrible thing that happens to us affects that truth regardless of what it feels like. So, if you’re asking (and you may not be) if I would rather trust my feelings about my situation or His solemn, unbreakable promise…well…I’ll let you guess which I’d rather trust.
-Dr. Danny Purvis
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