Lesson 2

Lesson 2: “Just because I feel something doesn’t make it true”

This lesson was one of the hardest for me to learn. For as long as my memories go back, I hadn’t known that there was a distinction between what I feel about a situation and the reality.

Let me illustrate: I hated the first day of each school term. I used to get myself into a high state of anxiety and dread. In my mind, the first day of school was terrifying – and nothing and no one could convince me otherwise. In retrospect though, there was not actually anything about the first day of school that made it more dangerous or scary than any other day. It is only now that I realise that my feelings about the day had no basis in reality. They were just feelings.

So what I have learnt is that feelings are an unreliable indicator of reality. Apparently (and I can’t say I’ve checked) the Bible has 365 exhortations to ‘not be afraid’. That implies to me that God thinks any feelings of anxiety or fear we may have are unnecessary. If we really trust God that He loves us and cares for us as much as He says (and that’s a whole other lesson right there), then He is right – we don’t need to be afraid of anything. So it seems to me that if we can get a really accurate vision of God as our Father, than we can stand up to our feelings of fear and say with confidence, “I know you’re a lie”.

Is there anything in your life today that is giving rise to strong feelings – fear, anger, hurt, offence? Is it time to ask whether your feelings are telling you the truth?

Just because you feel something doesn’t make it true…