Obedience Over Feelings

Love doesn’t prove itself in the rush of a feeling; it shows up when we choose God’s way over our will. That’s the heartbeat of this conversation, where we unpack John 14:15 and the everyday tension between emotions that surge and obedience that holds steady. We walk through the highs that make us forget God, the lows that tempt us to leave Him, and the quiet discipline that keeps our faith grounded when life swings hard.

Together we connect the words disciple and discipline and get honest about the costs. We revisit hard lessons from Jonah’s detour, David’s desire, and Israel’s wandering to show how unchecked feelings mislead even the strongest among us. From road rage to revenge, from flashy purchases to risky relationships, we lay out simple, Scriptural tests that put reactions under the light: would I want God to treat me as I’m about to treat this person? Does this choice grow the fruit of the Spirit or feed the impulse of the moment?

You’ll hear practical steps to move emotions from the driver’s seat to the back seat without denying them. We talk about setting boundaries that protect your soul like a sturdy front door—limits that keep out what harms so real blessings can come in on God’s timing. If you’ve been tempted to equate spontaneity with freedom, this is an invitation to try a different path: steady, joyful, and free because it’s disciplined. Press play to reset your reflexes toward mercy, courage, and self-control—and share it with someone who’s battling the same pull between feeling and faith.

If this helped you reset your compass, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a quick review so others can find it. What’s one moment today where you’ll choose obedience over impulse?

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Chapters

• 1:28 Welcome And Scripture Focus
• 1:52 Obedience, Discipline, And Fruit
• 2:11 Highs, Lows, And Hidden Dangers
• 3:11 When Feelings Drive, You Lose
• 3:43 Weigh Reactions Against Scripture
• 3:53 Practical Tests For Everyday Anger
• 4:32 Obedience As Protection
• 5:31 Emotions In The Back Seat

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:45

Hello everybody, welcome to another episode of 5 Minutes and Coffee. My name is Jerry and I am glad to be back sharing God's word with you. The scripture for today's episode is John 14, 15. And simply put, Jesus tells us, if we love him, we will keep his commands. Are you obeying the word or are you obeying your feelings? We are going to discuss obedience and discipline. When it comes to our walk, we really should be bearing fruit. If you are not sure what the fruit is, I implore you to read Galatians chapter 5. We want to be disciples of Christ, but how much do we understand how discipline and disciple go together? In this walk, it can take us high and it can bring us low. And sometimes being high or low can be equally just as dangerous. Some of us we get so high we finally get that position in our job. We are at the pinnacle, we are the leader, and we make the money we want. And when we get there, we no longer have a need for God. Or do we see that as an opportunity to bless others? Also, sometimes life brings us so low that it shatters our faith. During this time, do you use that opportunity as a way to encourage others with your story, or do you walk away from God? You see, it is the feelings in these situations that sometimes drive us one way or another, but it is obedience and discipline that leads us in the way that we should go. Whatever the case is with what happens to us in this life, we have to make sure our feelings do not outweigh obedience and discipline. Jonah was swallowed by a well because he felt strongly about what he wanted to do. David sinned with Bathsheba because he saw her and felt a certain way. The Israelites spent 40 years in the desert because of how they felt. When feelings drive, you lose. So we must take hold of our emotions or they will take hold of us. Am I advocating that we become robots and that we pretend nothing bothers us and we're very disengaged from this life? No. What I am saying though is whatever happens to you and however you decide you want to react, that you weigh it against Scripture and consider whether or not it will make the Lord proud. Let's look at some practical examples. You're driving in traffic, someone cuts you off, and you have some words that are about to burst out of your chest. Put the situation in reverse. If you had cut someone off and God saw it, would you want him to take his vengeance out on you? If your answer is no, then do likewise to others. Then there's this idea, what if someone is intentionally hurting me? Then one, get to safety. Two, before you take your vengeance, then ask yourself, if I've hurt God due to my sins, do I want him to take his vengeance out on me? This life has the ability to take you in so many different directions. So when we don't feel like worshiping God, remember, obedience and discipline. When we don't feel like loving our neighbor, obedience and discipline. When we feel like we deserve that thing that the Lord has made clear that we do not need it, it is a bad investment, like that expensive car, that outrageous mortgage, or that ungodly relationships, remember, obedience and discipline. After all, obedience and discipline is there to protect you. It's just like your front door. Would you take your front door off of your home because you thought that your front door was keeping something good from walking into your house in the middle of the night? Would we really think that if we were to remove the front door from our home, that that will allow blessings to come into our homes a lot easier? Even if a blessing were to walk into your home in the middle of the night, I'm quite certain that it will come with a lot more than just that blessing, and it will come with those things that we were not prepared to deal with. What makes a lot of this difficult when it comes to how we feel versus what we should do is because the Lord created us in all of our emotions, and that is the full human experience. But He did not create your emotions to be in the driver's seat of your life. So take your emotions, put them in the back seat, and strap them down to the booster seat. And when it is time, you remove your emotions, but under your control. This is Jerry with 5 Minutes and Coffee.