What Happens When I Follow My Feelings Instead of God?
I’ve been making some changes in my life.
Praying more.
Reading my daily devotion.
Actually trying to start my day with God instead of jumping straight into everything else.
And I’ve noticed something…
Things are different.
When I take time to pray, to ask for peace, guidance, and to lift up my family, friends, and coworkers, my mindset changes. When I read my devotion, it gives me something to carry into the day. Something to think about. Something to apply.
It matters.
But I’ve also noticed the opposite.
When I skip prayer…
When I rush…
When I tell myself I don’t have time…
That’s when things start going off.
It’s like saying:
“God, I’ve got this today.”
And most of the time… I don’t.
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After reading If There Is No God by Dennis Prager, one idea really stuck with me:
Feelings don’t define right and wrong.
Values do.
And that hit me.
Because if I’m honest, a lot of my bad decisions don’t come from not knowing what’s right…
They come from choosing how I feel over what I know.
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Feelings vs Values
When I act on feelings, things don’t always go the way they should.
At home…
At work…
In conversations…
It shows up in how I respond to people.
It shows up when I rush decisions.
It shows up when I take shortcuts just to get something done.
In the moment, it can feel right.
But later… you realize you missed something.
Said something wrong.
Handled something the wrong way.
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Values are different.
Values take effort.
They require:
•truth
•honesty
•integrity
And for me, they come from God.
Not because I always get it right…
but because I know where they come from.
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I see this in my own life.
My wife keeps me in check more than anyone. She can tell when I’m off. When my mindset is shifting. When I’m not leading the way I should.
And when I actually listen…
It shows.
I’m a better husband.
A better father.
A better grandfather.
There’s more peace.
More patience.
More consistency.
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I see it at work too.
There are procedures in place for a reason. Safety, structure, and order.
But when things get busy, it’s easy to cut corners.
To rush.
To take shortcuts.
And every time…
It catches up.
Maybe not immediately.
But it always does.
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What I’ve been working on is this:
Not just following procedures…
but starting my day with God before I even get there.
Letting Him lead instead of relying on myself.
And it’s changed how I lead.
I’m more patient.
Communication is better.
The team responds better.
It’s not perfect…
But it’s better.
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So what’s the difference?
It’s not just my schedule.
It’s what I’m choosing to follow.
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Faith isn’t about how I feel.
It’s about what I choose.
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If I live by feelings, everything shifts.
But if I live by values…
Things stay grounded.
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And when you step back and look at the world we live in…
You can see what happens when feelings take over.
Confusion.
Division.
Chaos.
But if people lived by values…
Things would look different.
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Because if God isn’t the source of right and wrong…
Then right and wrong becomes whatever people feel.
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I’m still working on this.
learning.
Still failing at times.
But more aware now than I was before.
And that’s a start.
When I follow my feelings, I drift.
When I follow God, I stay grounded.
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