Trust the Temperature

I knew it was 55 degrees. The thermometer on my porch told me so.

But it was a rainy morning. It was cloudy, windy, sunless, sprinkling.

And even though I have been a runner for years and I knew that 55 degrees calls for a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, I just didn't believe it that one morning. It looked colder than that. It felt colder than that. So I put on pants and a long-sleeved shirt.

And, of course, I found myself 5 minutes into my run with my long-sleeved shirt tied around my waist, my legs overheating. 

Why didn't I just dress according to the temperature, instead of what I felt it would be like outside?

Maybe because I sometimes talk myself out of acting according to God's Word, instead of what I feel like.

Oh, you too?

A thermometer is a modern miracle. It doesn't care what it feels like outside; it just tells the truth.

So does Scripture.

Without God's Word, we're a mess. Because we're weak. Because we're fearful. Because we are proud. Because we listen to ourselves. 

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, NIV)

BUT 

"The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart," (Hebrews 4:12, NIV).

Your heart will deceive you. (Can I get an amen?!?!) I mentor many college girls and I hear these statements all the time:

"But I just feel so..."
"But he makes me feel..."
"But I've always wanted..."

And I listen because I love them. I give them the words a 20-something girl needs to hear. But what I want to say is, "Your heart is deceiving you! What does God's Word say?"

(Don't worry. Sometimes I do say just that, if they can handle it :)

And I pray that, if you need to hear it, you hear the Spirit saying the same thing to you today:

"Stop. Breathe. You have blown this out of proportion, because you're looking at the situation through your own eyes. But you don't understand it all. You don't realize all that's going on. I DO! And when you need to know what is really going on, you find that in My Word."

So you check the thermometer of God's Word and you understand the real temperature. 

Your feelings are real. Your heartache is real. Your struggles are real.

But you are swayed by your circumstances, emotions, past, passions, temperament, and (sometimes most of all) hormones. God's Word isn't. IT IS TRUTH. 

So commit today to checking the temperature of your life with God's thermometer: the Bible.

Here are a few to get you started:

"Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him.
Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I will never be shaken," (Psalm 62:1).

"The LORD Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged," (Deuteronomy 31:8).

"Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need," (Hebrews 4:16).

"The LORD will fight for you. You need only to be still," (Exodus 14:14).

And as you check the thermometer this week, I pray you'll think about the true assessment of your life and circumstances that can be found only in the Bible.

PLEASE, share your own favorite verses that keep you grounded, focused, and confident in Christ alone. Write them in the comments below so we can all find new trust in our thermometer!