Like an open city with no defenses is the man with no check on his feelings. Proverbs 25:28 (NAB)
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It’s not unusual for people to become disillusioned, discouraged, and fatigued about halfway into a difficult challenge. When I start to feel the fatigue, I look to Proverbs 25 and remember that my feelings are not a reliable measure of how things are going.
We’re to trust wholeheartedly in God and put no faith in our own perceptions (based on Proverbs 3:5 NJB).
Our feelings come from a variety of sources – past, present, and future. But feelings often lie; they’re not always a reflection of reality. Plus, life is complex and we must often live with mixed feelings: “Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief” (Proverbs 14:13 NIV).
People often compare life to a roller coaster of hills and valleys, but actually life is more like two rails on a railroad track. One rail represents the good and positive in your life; the other represents the bad and painful in your life.
You’ll always have both at the same time! There will always be something good and something bad happening in your life. We can’t expect everything to be good for one month and then everything to be bad the next month. There’s always a mixture of both, a blending of both bitter and sweet.
However, we can choose the focus: “When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow” (Romans 12:15 NLT).
© 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved.
Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for ministers.
