How to have faith in spite of our feelings

One area many believers fail to consider when trying to understand why their own faith is weak is the integrity of God’s Word. 

All Bible-believing Christians agree the Bible is the Word of God. But many do not understand that the truth of God’s Word often conflicts with what we see and feel.

Sometimes we feel as if God has forsaken us. We feel alone and cut off from the presence of God. Yet the Word says our God will never leave us or forsake us. Whom will we believe? Will we trust our feelings and perceptions or the eternal Word of God? 

Many of us, because we are not trained to do otherwise, simply follow how we feel. Yet the reality is we are not forsaken, and God has not left us. Instead, our perceptions are an unreliable witness.

Trust wholeheartedly in Yahweh, put no faith in your own perceptions; in every course you take, have him in mind: he will see to it that your paths are smooth. Proverbs 3:5 JB 

In the life of faith, we come to see the written Word of God as being more reliable than our own senses.

When Isaiah the prophet described the sevenfold anointing that would rest on the Messiah (see Isa. 11:1–3), he commented on the final aspect of this anointing—the fear of the Lord. 

His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears. Isaiah 11:3 

In this fascinating passage, we see that the Lord Himself, in His incarnation, did not trust His own senses to tell Him the truth.

He said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Our Savior esteemed the Word of God as having higher authority than His own senses. And His humanity was perfect! The Word is a higher type of truth.

— Excerpt from Establishing Our Hearts in the Grace of God (book, e-book, audio series)

---