If ever there lived someone who had a right to battle feelings beyond intensity it was Abraham (and Jesus, but we'll get to him). Imagine for a moment an old man patting Isaac's head on his way to Moriah with full knowledge of the sacrifice God had asked him to make.

Did he dare to reach out to his son, fearing hugging him or even looking at him would send him into hysterics? Hear Isaac ask where the lamb is for the burnt offering. Can you imagine the array of feelings Abraham endured? Anger, confusion, desperation, and sadness to a mind-numbing despair. He also longed to obey the One he trusted as God.

Hebrews 11:17-19 tells us more about Abraham.

"By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.'"

The scene is alive with a powerful message. Abraham chose to act in obedience through his feelings. He didn't act despite his feelings, ignoring or dismissing them. He still felt, but he kept his feelings in check with what he knew about his trustworthy God. He chose to trust and have faith through the feelings.

We also know that Jesus told the disciples that "his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death." The shortest verse in the Bible says, "Jesus wept." Jesus also demonstrated a righteous anger at the sellers in the temple. He was well aware of the wide spectrum of feelings. Jesus also knew how to keep feelings in perspective. He carried a cross on his back, sliced with lashings, trudging his way to death. He clung to faith through his feelings.

It is not bad to feel things. It's healthy, and there are healthy ways to express what we feel. However, feelings are fickle. We cannot trust them. They have a place and that place hovers below the promise of faith. I've walked through specific seasons when I haven't felt the Lord's presence. But I learned to trust that though I didn't feel him there, He still was.

In the end, it comes down to how we handle our feelings - how much wisdom we possess in dealing with what we feel. Have we learned to take every thought captive, to be slow to anger, to bridle our tongues and to take time to work through the more impulsive or explosive of our feelings? Psalm 139 provides numerous verses detailing how God knows everything about us, including "perceiving our thoughts from afar."

God already knows what we feel. He knows and He loves us anyway, hoping we'll present our feelings to Him. Hoping we'll humbly ask for His guidance as we learn to express what we feel. Hoping we will have faith through our feelings.

Wendy Miller’s work has been published in inspirational books, online magazines and on numerous websites. She is passionate about encouraging women through writing and speaking, and currently Wendy leads a small group of seniors from her church. Raising her three little girls, writing novels, creating craft projects, and hiking are other ways she enjoys spending her time. Feel free to visit her blog to peek inside the window of her thoughts as she actively pursues what it means to follow the Lord. Wendy's Website