Adopt the feelings of the Lord Jesus Christ

The gospel isn’t just a means of changing our actions to align with Jesus; it also enables us to align with the Lord in how we feel. It isn’t possible to follow the Lord’s example only in outward actions. While some outward changes always occur downstream of inward changes, it is from within, in our hearts and minds, that we grow in the measure to which we have obtained and instantiated the character of Christ. The Lord repeatedly taught that good and evil cannot be assessed solely by outward actions, because your understanding and desire are necessary determinants of whether what you do is good or evil.¹ It is primarily the corrupt default state of our mind and heart—our beliefs and feelings (including desires and motives)—that makes us natural enemies of God.²

Jesus feels good about what is actually good, and he feels bad about what is actually bad. His desires focus on what has the greatest value, according to his perfect understanding of what everything is actually worth, and his emotional reactions are perfectly aligned with how things really were, are, and will be.³ As you learn more about the Lord, you will find in him every reason to yield to his feelings, even when yours differ, and through doing so, increasingly understand and agree with why he feels that way.⁴

An abundant life is not obtained or defined by pleasant feelings, but by what we are willing to do in spite of the lack thereof. Those willing to do the greatest good even when it feels the worst are the ones who end up feeling the best.

A surprising number of professed Christians will only submit to God when doing so feels good. Many people truly believe that submission to God always feels better than the alternative. Why would you believe that submission to the Father will feel dramatically different for you than it did for Jesus, whose relentless suffering was so intense that it would have killed any other person?⁵ In just one episode of the Lord’s lifelong suffering, he asked the Father three times if there was any other way than what he had been told, as he sweat blood due to the intensity of the pain he felt (see Luke 22).

While the maximal suffering you face in life will be less than what Jesus faced, every true disciple of Christ will face suffering beyond what they expect would kill them—beyond anything they imagined possible. Will you prove faithful, as Jesus did, or will you turn away, as almost everyone will long before the pinnacle of suffering is reached? The answer is not determined by a burst of courage, but through your willingness to participate in the process that prepares you.

The Lord’s entire life was a series of trials of cascading intensity, as yours is meant to be. Life’s trials help you build strength, increase your trust in God, and, very importantly, adjust your understanding of worth. Each of these virtues increases incrementally as you recognize and overcome the trials presently before you. The more you actively compare your life to how you believe God would live it, and the more fully you make all necessary changes to align the two, the stronger your ability to continue doing so will become, even in the face of greater obstacles.⁶

Some feelings seem to just happen to us, but our understanding of reality and the choices we make play a significant role in how we feel, especially in the long-term. Living the gospel requires improvement in your beliefs. Your initial beliefs about reality tend to be adopted from your surrounding environment, but like the Lord, you have the ability and responsibility to test, reject, seek, and adopt beliefs that exceed the limits of those around you.⁷ The more honestly you live your beliefs, and the more diligently you search for better ones, the more accurately you will see the world, the better the choices you will make, and the better you will feel.