Erin has prayed for years that her estranged son would come home.
Tricia can’t seem to shake a gray cloud of despondency, ever since her fiancé broke off their engagement.
Jack worked many extra hours to qualify for a prized promotion, but the boss’s unpleasant nephew was awarded the position instead.
Stacie has faced the loss of one job and a stressful transition to another.
Kate goes through the motions at church and even continues with her quiet time. But God seems to have distanced himself. She hasn’t sensed his presence for weeks.
Such circumstances can cause a downward spiral in our spirits, as debilitating emotions like frustration, anger, worry, and depression threaten to move in and take over. If we feed these emotions with negative thoughts, our faith in God begins to falter, and the devil’s lies begin to sound like truth:
- So much time has passed; God is never going to answer your prayer.
- Since bad things keep happening, it’s obvious God has abandoned you.
- God doesn’t care about your life. Otherwise, why would he allow you to fail?
- They say God offers love, peace, and joy, but none of it’s coming your way.
- It looks like God’s forsaken you and to make matters worse, you don’t even know why.
Is it possible to fight against such feelings and fortify our faith? Oh, yes!
Our fight begins with truth—straight from God’s Word. We have to choose facts over feelings—just like a pilot does, as he flies through miles of thick clouds. In order to stay on course, he can’t trust what he feels is proper speed, direction, and altitude; he has to rely on the facts presented by his instruments.
So what scriptural truths might help us maintain our spiritual equilibrium? There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of passages that address our various needs with pinpoint perfection.
Other scriptures provide broad-sweeping truths that cover almost any situation. One example:
If we read the Bible with the intent of finding applicable truth for our circumstances, we won’t be disappointed.
“Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.”
Romans 15:4 NLT
Now the question becomes: Will we take God at his word and act upon it?
Hebrews 11 gives us a lineup of faith-stars who did just that–based their actions on faith, not feelings.
By faith Noah built an ark (v. 7). He didn’t allow feelings of inadequacy to stop him.
By faith Abraham left home with no notion of where he was going (v. 8). He didn’t allow fear of the unknown to deter him from following God’s direction.
By faith, the parents of Baby Moses hid him from Pharaoh. They didn’t allow fear of punishment to stop them. “They were not afraid of the king’s edict” (v. 23).
By faith the people of Israel marched around Jericho, even though it must have seemed a strange tactic (v. 30).
Bottom line: Faith is the exercise of our minds, based on the stable truth of God’s Word, in spite of what we might feel. Emotions are just the unreliable, fluctuating condition of our minds. [1]
On the other hand, God doesn’t ask us to ignore our feelings. Job, David, and the prophets honestly expressed frustration, fear, disappointment, and discouragement. But! They didn’t allow their emotions to cripple them. [2]
Also worth noting: None of these faithful people were perfect, yet God honored their faith. He doesn’t need perfect people to accomplish his purpose, just willing and faithful ones.
* * * * * * * * * *
Forgive me, Lord, for allowing feelings to impact my faith. Help me to fit every thought. emotion, and impulse into the structure of a Christ-shaped life.
Thank you for listening and offering encouragement as I confess my feelings. You even supply strength, peace, and hope.
And finally, I praise you that you preserve the faithful. I am secure in you. In fact, you, my all-powerful God, are security itself.
2 Corinthians 10:5, MSG; Psalm 10:17; Psalm 29:11; Psalm 31:23; Proverbs 18:10
Notes:
[1] J. Clarke, http://www.writtentreasures.org
[2] See Psalm 13 for a worthy example.
Art & photo credits: http://www.pexels.com (Liza Summer); http://www.pexels.com (Karolina Grabowska); http://www.pxfuel.com; http://www.publicdomainpictures.net (George Hodan); http://www.publicdomainpictures.net (2); http://www.wikimedia.org; http://www.dailyverses.net.
(Revised and reblogged from February 9, 2015 while we enjoy a visit from our younger son.)
From the Inside Out 
Beautiful post, thank you, Nancy.
Thank you, Carole. Praise God for his inspiration!
You are spot on, Nancy. As a matter of fact, this topic on faith has been our Sunday school lesson. But as you said, truth has to trump our feelings
And filling the mind with truth certainly feeds our faith (as you well know)! Thank you, Brenda!
I love the quote from Mother Teresa, Nancy! We can’t use our feelings alone to guide us through this journey of life. At some point, the bold promises of our faithful God must steer the wheel and help us to grow in faith, truth and love in Him.
Blessings, my friend!
A perfect summary, Martha! Your sentence about God steering the wheel would make a meaningful prayer-starter. So glad you liked the Mother Teresa quote!
Such an encouraging post. I found strength reading Psalm 145: 13b, 14. The fact that He lifts us up when we are bowed down is such a blessing. Also, I keep reminding myself not to rely upon my feelings. It can be a trap to go with how I feel because it distracts me from trusting in the Lord.
Feelings can also be so strong they cloud our faith. To conquer them requires returning the mind again and again to such scriptures. Easier said than done at first, but with continual practice comes improvement. Notice I didn’t say, “Practice makes perfect!” Sometimes I allow myself to spiral downward into negativity before I even realize what I’m doing. My hope is to consistently catch myself as I approach the rim, and turn my mind toward praise and gratitude!
Oh, that “pilot” comparison! And I can’t help thinking of faithfulness as “the pilot light” glowing . . . on, and on, deep within . . .
Another worthwhile image to keep in mind–faithfulness like an ever-glowing pilot light. Thank you, Laurie!
As always, your words have blessed me tremendously this morning, Nancy. Like you said, “Faith is the exercise of our minds…” Faith is an action that I must consciously take in order to overrule the sway of my emotions. Thank you for truth presented so clearly!
Praise God you found blessing here, Patty! I must be mindful of the same, to reaffirm my faith in what I know about our all-powerful, all-wise God, in order to overrule my emotions. We can press on together, my friend!
Thank you Nancy for reminders of faith vs feelings. It is nice to have feeling of joy, contentment but for sure there are times when faith had to be there and perhaps decades go by before we see God’s hand in our lives in a particular area. Thanks, Nancy for your encouraging blogs. By the way, my pastor is going to be reading them.
Good point, Sam. Sometimes we have to wait for God’s best timing–even when it comes to calming our negative emotions. I’m so glad you find encouragement here, and am honored you recommended these posts to your pastor.
Nancy, such a well balanced post on faith and feelings. I love the opening line of your prayer- “Forgive me, Lord, for allowing feelings to impact my faith.”
Thank you, Beth. The acknowledgement that our current feelings are off-track is an important first step to get us back on the path of faith.
Just read this passage in Hebrews today, so your blog post was an incredibly timely read this morning! Love these thoughts, Nancy. How true, that God and His word have to be the basis of our faith, not our fluctuation emotions. Thank you for this encouragement!
You’re welcome Mary! Praise God you found encouragement here. Bible study/meditation has been an effective strategy for me against negative emotions. God has ministered through his Word–right in the midst of what I’m feeling–many times over the years!
Faith requires us to wait with a posture of hope…from a place of peace. There’s a wonderful work that’s done ‘in the wait’ as we trust Our Lord.
Oh, I like the way you said that: “There’s a wonderful work that done in the wait as we trust our Lord.” AMEN to that!
Amen! Blessings Nancy for sharing these encouraging words about how one’s perception of faith is directly connected to staying in touch with God’s Word.
Staying in touch with God’s Word sounds boring to those who’ve never tried it. For those of us who know its power to minister wisdom, instruction, encouragement, and more, it is life-giving!