Sunday February 1, 2026

What am I feeling? 

This Sunday marks the beginning of a new series called More Than a Feeling. The series isn't about treating emotions as good or bad. It's about awareness. Pastor Joel opened the message by naming something most of us recognize: we are living in a moment where emotions are close to the surface. Conversations feel sharper. Reactions come quicker. That's not a judgment. It's an observation.

The opening question of the series is simple: What am I feeling?

Pastor Joel used a toy called Air Toobz to illustrate what happens when emotions go unnoticed. The toy pushes lightweight balls through a long clear tube. As he described a typical week, he dropped one ball in at a time. Frustration when Peyton doesn't listen. Stress when plans change. Anxiety from reading the news. Pressure from work piling up. Guilt from falling short. Even good things like relief and joy. None of these emotions are wrong. They're just what it means to be human. But as the system kept running, the balls didn't disappear. They built pressure. When they finally released, it was sudden and loud. That's not because the emotions were bad or the system was broken. It's because there was movement without awareness.

Psalm 139 became the anchor for the message. The psalm does not begin with instruction. It begins with confession: "O Lord, you have searched me and known me." Before a single feeling is identified, before a single thought is organized, God already knows. The starting point is not self-awareness. It's God-awareness. The psalm describes what that knowing looks like in everyday life: sitting, rising, speaking, thinking. God is not hovering only over the big moments. God is present in the ordinary rhythms of human life.

The psalmist admits that this kind of knowing can feel uncomfortable. "You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me." There is a sense of being surrounded, even confined. No escape routes. That's exactly how strong emotions feel once we finally notice them. They surround us. They press in. But the psalm doesn't stay in fear. It turns quietly: "Even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast." What once felt confining is revealed as steadying. God's presence doesn't trap us. It guides us. It holds us.

Darkness does not hide us from God. Night is as bright as day. Emotions often feel like darkness: blurring judgment, complicating perspective. Psalm 139 insists that none of that is hidden. Not because God is watching, but because God is near. And the reason God knows us this deeply is because God formed us. Our emotional lives are not interruptions God manages later. They are part of the life God has always known.

Pastor Joel closed the message with a simple invitation: notice what you're feeling this week. Name it honestly before God. Speak it aloud to someone you trust. Pause once before reacting and ask yourself what's actually driving that moment. No fixing. No performance. Just honesty and trust.

Neutral goes nowhere. Ignored emotions don't disappear. But when faith becomes trust, movement follows. And God meets us there.