Faith vs.Feelings
Some days you feel close to God. Other days you feel nothing. Learn what Scripture says about living by faith when your emotions say otherwise.
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Some days you feel close to God. Other days you feel nothing.
Some days worship feels alive and prayer comes easily. Other days you feel nothing at all. When the feeling fades, it is easy to assume God has moved away, or that your faith was never real.
We live by faith, not by sight
For we live by faith, not by sight.2 Corinthians 5:7 · NIV
Paul wrote to believers who could not yet see what God had promised. Faith, Hebrews says, is confidence in what we hope for, not in what we can feel right now.
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.Hebrews 11:1 · NIV
God is greater than your heart
John admits that our hearts can accuse and mislead us. His answer is not to ignore the heart, but to remember that God is greater than it and knows everything.
If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.1 John 3:20 · NIV
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.Psalm 56:3 · NIV
Faith isn’t the absence of feelings. It is choosing whom to trust while you have them.
Feelings report. Faith decides
Emotions tell you what is happening inside you. They don’t get the final word on what is true about God.
Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.Hebrews 13:5 · NIV
A prayer for dry days
Lord, I don’t feel You today, but I choose to trust what You have said. You are greater than my heart. Lead me by Your Word, not my moods, and let my feelings catch up to Your truth. Amen.
Pray it when God feels farLet truth lead, and feelings follow
- Name the feelingTell God honestly what you feel. He is not shocked by it.
- Answer it with truthFind one promise that speaks to it, and read it out loud.
- Take the next faithful stepPray, show up and obey, even before the feeling returns.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.Romans 15:13 · NIV
What would you do today if you trusted God more than your feelings?
Think of one feeling that has been leading you lately. What promise of God speaks to it? Write it down and read it each morning this week.
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Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.