Remember this: 'feelings are
strengthened by being indulged. You are tempted to pride, to lightness, to
impatience; you have feelings of pride, lightness, impatience, for this is
what temptations are. These feelings should be immediately and indignantly
resisted. Get after them in earnest. The very exercise of resisting is
what will develop and strengthen the spiritual powers; but if the feelings
are indulged, they will grow stronger and the spiritual powers grow
weaker. If you value your spiritual prosperity, you will be very quick to
resist every temptation. Sometimes people allow a tried, mean, impatient
feeling to settle down upon them for hours. They do not feel pleasant,
neither do they look pleasant. Such feelings leave their trace behind.
They are a dangerous foe. Loathe them, despise them. Go to the Lord in
earnest prayer and pray until joy springs up in the soul, a smile beams on
the face, and the bad feelings are made to fly away like a startled bird.
Some say, "We can not prevent bad feelings and thoughts from attacking
us." They use the words of Luther--"We can not prevent birds flying over
our heads, but can prevent them from building nests in our hair.
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