“But we live by faith, not by what we see.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

Sa lahat sa atin ay dumarating ang emotions of sadness, bitterness, revenge. But these feelings are not necessarily true. Maraming beses nagkakamali tayo dahil nag based tayo ng judgment natin, not based on facts, but in what we feel. The mistake we make is we let feelings determine our mood kaya madalas hindi natin ma-enjoy ang buhay natin because we are ruled by what we feel.

If we live our lives by what we feel, we will be deprived of being truly happy, we will miss the good things this life offers. This is because our emotions and feelings are usually not in line with the Word of God. In 2 Corinthians it said: “…we live by faith and not by what we see [or feel].”

This is what David did. He had all kinds of trouble: armies coming against him, people slandering him, his own son was trying to take the throne. You can imagine how strong those negative feelings were, discouragement, anger, self pity. When everything said, “Be depressed, be sour”, he woke up in the morning and said (Psalm 118:24), “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it”. He wasn’t just being positive, he was telling his feelings, “You’re not going to rule me. You’re not going to determine my future”. Your will is more powerful than your feelings. You have to say the discouragement, “I will rejoice”. Say to self pity, “I will be glad today”. Say to sadness, “You’re not going to control my life. I may feel you, but you’re not telling me the truth. You don’t dictate my future. I will live this day in faith. I will rejoice. I will be glad in it”. This should be your declaration.

“Blessed is the person who is steady and does not change,” says Jeremiah 17:7. That should be our goal: to always be in a good mood, always be happy, always be friendly, and always be kind. Hindi iyong sa Lunes mabait, Martes masungit, Myerkules friendly, Huwebes nakakatakot, Byernes tumabi ka dyan baka tamaan ka. When we have a “yo-yo” mood, when we are unpredictable, people run away from us. Ayaw nila tayong kasama dahil mahirap tayong pakisamahan because we are moody, like that volcano which can erupt anytime anywhere without warning.

In the scripture, Habakkuk 3:17-18 said, “Though the fig tree does not blossom and there be no fruit on the vine. Though the olive crops fail and there are no cattle in the stalls. Yet will I rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of my salvation”. He was saying, “When I woke up this morning, I didn’t feel joy, my crops didn’t bloom, cattle was gone, felt discouraged, like I didn’t want to get out of bed”. But I will now allow these bad things to rule my day. I can choose to still choose to be happy anyway.

When you’re consistent, stable, always in a good mood, you give the enemy a nervous breakdown. He’s expecting you to fall apart, get on board with your emotions, take that train to depression, to bitterness. He didn’t realize you’re like Habakkuk. “I lost my job, that didn’t steal my joy, yet will I rejoice. My prayer remains unanswered, I’m not bitter, yet will I be glad. Went to a loss, wasn’t easy, but I’m not sour, yet will I be hopeful, yet will I choose a good attitude, yet will I live this day in faith”.

We all suffer losses and defeats in different areas of our lives. And these could make us very difficult to smile. The enemy will tell you to be sad and to cry. But I want to encourage you today that God is there with you to take you by the hand and will tell you: “I know you feed bad, but if you trust Me, I can make all things beautiful. I will walk with you and be with you and we will go through this together.” In the book of Genesis 28:15 “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Yes mararanasan mo ang mga dagok sa buhay and hindi naman natin pwedeng itago yan na parang hindi nangyayari. But like Habakkuk, like David, we could choose to still thank God and doing what St Paul said: “I will walk by faith and holding on to the promises of God…I will not live sour but choose to believe that something good is about to happen in spite of this mess.”

In the Book of First Kings 19, the prophet Elijah had just won one of the most important battles he had ever fought. He made fire fall from the sky and used it to kill 450 fake preachers who worshipped Baal. It was a big, exciting moment. You can picture how excited he was and how high he was. Emotions are good when they help us, but they can change quickly. If you let them affect your mood, your faith, or what you believe, your life will be up and down and you won’t be able to stay in one place.

So, when Jezebel, the king’s wife, heard what Elijah had done, she was very angry. She told Elijah, “I’m going to kill myself if I don’t kill you by this time tomorrow.” Elijah was scared to death. He ran into the desert to save his life. He had just killed hundreds of men by calling down fire from heaven, but now he’s afraid of this one woman. Elijah was so down that he was sitting under a tree and said, “God, I want to die!”Look at how strong and effective feelings can be. Do not make a permanent decision for your temporary emotion.

Do not live all the years of your life controlled by your feelings and emotions. Tell your emotions: “you are not in charge of me. I will not allow you control over my life.” Where God leads you will require stability and consistency, not the ups and downs, the yo-yo mood swings. Begin each day in trust, saying, “Dear Lord, thank you that this is going to be a great day.” If you can master your emotions and pick a pleasant attitude, I believe that you will live happier, have better relationships, and achieve greater things. New opportunities are going to emerge. Favour, healing, and breakthroughs are on your way.