“Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” (1st Kings 19:18)
The Almighty always keeps a remnant for Himself, those who do not concern themselves with the things of the world, who are not going to scratch those itchy ears, who have been blessed to see what is profitable for the followers of Christ and what is not.
Diversions are the way of Satan, and the more they tug at the heartstrings, the better. He has no desire to see the Almighty worshipped, and so those shallow, fleeting supposed uplifting emotions are always one of his greatest deceptions. The Charismatics live and breath these emotions, the Roman Catholic cult has perfected the manipulation of them into an art form, nearly every religious organization that has ever existed understands that the first precept, the first trap set must be to create an emotional response.
They reach for the heart first.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9)
As the hedges are lowered and the darkness grows thicker not only the lost but some of those who have been truly saved by grace will begin to grasp at any straw they can, and our adversary understands this full well. Movies and television programs will arrive that tug at these heartstrings, and it matters little if the response is one of an incredulous response or of tears, of anger or hope, as long as there is a response from the recipient emotionally it can guarantee one thing, it will not last.
A heartfelt love for the Lord Jesus Christ, if it is real, will be followed by actions meant to glorify His name, not to help us to feel as if we have done something, not to make us feel better about ourselves, never for any form of vainglory whatsoever.
“For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.” (Eccl. 1:18) A blessing that makes one feel bad? Do you consider grief an uplifting emotion? Do you seek to be sorrowful nearly continuously? Then pray for wisdom.
“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2nd Tim. 3:12) Live godly and be persecuted, sound like a wonderful way to live your life?
“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18) Wouldn’t want that, would we, to be hated by those we are told to love, to live in a place where one is continuously ostracized?
Your emotions are in many cases irrelevant to the Most High, your willing obedience to Him is, not how you feel about serving Him. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
Be full of grief and sorrow and you will be Christlike, be persecuted for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and be content in it, be hated by the world and rejoice in those moments. Follow the emotional flow and you will never be satisfied, but you will be easily controlled by him who today is the god of this world.
Temptations my friends always evoke an emotional response, always, and he who tempts us will do everything in his power to make you feel a certain way.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1) We rejoiced beyond measure the day we were born-again, happiness does not even begin to describe our elation at that moment. But the Scriptures stand as truth. “Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.” (Eccl. 7:3)
There are emotions of the mind and of the flesh, it would be wise of you to search the Scriptures to understand the difference between the two. One will trap you, the other will set you free.