Sometimes we feel ashamed or anxious, overwhelmed, lonely, or sad. And often we feel such things when we shouldn’t, such as guilt over something that wasn’t our fault, or anxiety about an imaginary problem.
Of course, we have positive emotions too, and sometimes even these are misplaced. We may feel happiness over something that is not truly good. Or we may feel a sense of relief over a situation that is a long way from being resolved.
The point is that it’s dangerous to put too much stock in our feelings. As real and powerful as our emotions are, they are not trustworthy guides for life.
There is often a profound difference between what seems true and what is true. So just because you’re not feeling especially righteous today, it doesn’t mean you’re not actually righteous.
To be righteous is to be free from sin—in short, to always be right. This is God’s nature. He is never wrong. He always does what is right.
He is always perfect in His interaction with His creatures. He’s always free from shady motives and suspect thoughts.
His track record is untainted by foolish decisions. Conversely, we are guilty of all those unrighteous things—even when we don’t feel especially bad about them.
The righteousness of God, then, becomes one of humanity’s greatest problems. How can a righteous God have anything to do with people who are unrighteous? If we’re not right (righteous) in our essential nature, we surely can’t be right with God.
So God—in His goodness, grace, and love—makes us righteous. He does this through Jesus.
An eternal exchange takes place when by faith we trust in Jesus and what He did at the cross—taking our sin, guilt, and shame upon Himself and dying in our place.
By paying for our crimes, Jesus satisfied divine justice. But that’s not all. He also shared His righteousness with us.
With Jesus as our substitute and Savior, we can stand before God and actually be right with God (2 Corinthians 5:19–21).
You may not feel righteous, but if your hope is in Christ alone, you are right with God.
Facts always trump feelings; the reality is that the followers of Jesus Christ are the very righteousness of God.
When have your feelings hindered your view of spiritual reality?
