To be honest, this past week has been one of the worst I have had in a while. Satan dug his ugly, bitter, doubtful, and degrading claws into me. He didn't just scratch me once and leave a flesh wound, he dug in and held on. He worked his way in deep and penetrated each layer of my eternal happiness granted by my Father and broke into one of the core values of who I am: my ability to be loved.

I know this is not an abnormal struggle, and most of you who are reading can think to a season in your life where you found yourself doubting someone's love for you, God's love for you, or just love in general. As human beings, with tough exteriors but fragile hearts, we are quick to believe any lies spewed at us that hurt our pride or diminish our self-worth.

Why is it so easy to indulge any little emotion that sweeps through us, letting it take our spirits into flight, only to be blown around until we are burdened by insecurities and negativity? Why, in those moments, does it take everything in us to fight against what we are feeling and cling to what we know to be true?

I have given this concept a lot of thought lately. I hear pastors speak of it in regards to salvation: "You have to rest on the truth of God's word that you are saved, even when you don't feel like you are."

I think this battle between thinking and feeling applies to every corner of our lives.

You feel fat, but you aren't really fat.

You feel like you are in love, but it isn't real love.

You feel like no one likes you, but that is just a lie from Satan.

You feel like you are unlovable, but you are loved.

Good and bad both, how we feel isn't always the reality we are living in. We cannot make crucial decisions on the whim of an emotion. Everyone knows this, but why don't we apply that to our thoughts as well?

We shouldn't make crucial thoughts and opinions toward ourselves based on a series of negative feelings. We are too easily persuaded, too easily encouraged to denounce our wonderful qualities, and too eager to surrender our Father's love for us, to be allowed to think ourselves into a pit of self-loathing.

I'll repeat the words of many pastors when I say, in those low days, weeks, or seasons, you have to cling to what you know to be true about yourself, your life, and the Lord, rather than reacting to how you feel.