{"id":98250,"date":"2026-09-26T14:41:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T19:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=98250"},"modified":"2026-09-26T14:41:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T19:41:41","slug":"i-know-what-i-feel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-know-what-i-feel\/","title":{"rendered":"I Know What I Feel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<p>by David Gibson<\/p>\n<p>One day, while grading finals in a Bible course, I inadvertently placed the key on the right side of a student&#8217;s exam, instead of the left. Before I realized it, I graded the answer key by his paper and marked a red X beside six correct answers!<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s somewhat like judging God&#8217;s word by our own ideas of how things should be. It&#8217;s all backward. Our think-so, feel-so, want-so must be subject to God&#8217;s word, not the other way around (II Timothy 4:1-4).<\/p>\n<h2>&#8220;Just follow your heart&#8221;?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;<em>He who trusts in his own heart is a fool<\/em>&#8230;&#8221; (Proverbs 28:26 NASB; see Deuteronomy 12:8; Proverbs 12:15; 21:2).<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<em>Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding<\/em>&#8221; (Proverbs 3:5).<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<em>I know, O Lord, that a man&#8217;s way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps<\/em>&#8221; (Jeremiah 10:23).<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<em>The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?<\/em>&#8221; (Jeremiah 17:9).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The problem with subjectivity<\/h2>\n<p>Some years ago, while driving in Southeastern Oklahoma, I ran over a branch. It knocked out the speedometer. I couldn&#8217;t trust my own &#8220;feel&#8221; for how fast I was going. A patrolman with an objective device called radar (presumably accurate) could pull me over, even if I sincerely thought I was going 65, but his radar said 75.<\/p>\n<p>In his book <em>Flying the Hump: Memories of an Air War<\/em>, Otha C. Spencer wrote, &#8220;Flying by instruments in bad weather means that a pilot puts his complete trust in his instruments and ignores his senses. All pilots, when on instruments, experience vertigo from time to time. This is when their mind, their sensations, and every cell in their body tells them the aircraft is in a crazy turn, climbing, or in a dive. The instruments say &#8216;no.&#8217; Pilots trust their instruments, or they die.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;<em>There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death<\/em>&#8221; (Proverbs 14:12).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>We can&#8217;t say we haven&#8217;t been warned.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by David Gibson One day, while grading finals in a Bible course, I inadvertently placed the key on the right side of a student&#8217;s exam, instead of the left. Before I realized it, I graded the answer key by his paper and marked a red X beside six correct answers! That&#8217;s somewhat like judging God&#8217;s&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[546],"class_list":["post-98250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-feelings"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60630,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-feel-saved\/","url_meta":{"origin":98250,"position":0},"title":"Do You Feel Saved?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 1, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne Greeson Are you saved? How do you know you are saved? \"I know I am saved because I feel it in my heart,\" many often say. But are the feelings of your heart the proper standard to determine your salvation? We do not use this standard in other\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31922,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-think-god-has-chosen-an-immoral-girl-to-be-my-wife\/","url_meta":{"origin":98250,"position":1},"title":"I think God has chosen an immoral girl to be my wife","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I would like to ask a question regarding marriage. There is this girl I know, and I think she may be immoral in a lot of ways, yet I feel like she may be the one whom God chose for me. I get the feeling that maybe He\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35611,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-it-mean-to-commit-your-plans-to-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":98250,"position":2},"title":"What does it mean to commit your plans to God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What does it mean to commit your plans to God? Does it simply mean just tell God what you plan in prayer and, of course, making sure your plan is in accordance with His will? Since God directs our steps, then whatever good we do benefits the whole church.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4335,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/would-your-church-be-a-good-fit\/","url_meta":{"origin":98250,"position":3},"title":"Would your church be a good fit?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have friends who are soon to be married. Both are leaving their church to find one together. Both very much need a Bible preaching church and also a church that allows the Holy Spirit to move. Would this be a good fit? One coming from a conservative church\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4656,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-is-closer-to-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":98250,"position":4},"title":"Who is Closer to God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 23, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bob Pulliam Now don't get me wrong! This is not a contest mentality being advocated here. But the question does enter my mind. I surfed over a channel the other day where people had the lights dimmed low, all were holding candles and swaying while singing\u00a0Alleluia. I'm not trying\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Emotional Worship","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/03\/emotionalWorship.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":26891,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-deceitful-heart\/","url_meta":{"origin":98250,"position":5},"title":"The Deceitful Heart","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 6, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Daniel H. King Sr. via\u00a0Guardian of Truth\u00a0XXXIX: 2 p. 22-23, January 19, 1995 The prophet Jeremiah's life and the unique experiences which he had with Israel, offered him a \"laboratory\" to study the workings of the human heart. God had entrusted him with a message of dismay, desolation, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98250\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}