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From the Pastor's Heart....                                                               

Living by Faith, not Feelings

              As I look out my office window, it’s kind of a dreary and overcast Virginia fall day. Yesterday was beautiful, sunshiny and warm. I guess these changes are characteristic of late fall as winter begins to seep in on the horizon. I really do appreciate the different seasons, and each one brings some change I enjoy. But the transitioning from one to the other sure brings some wild variations in temperature.

The weather reminds me of the changing emotions and feelings that operate in my life. My astute wife has lovingly reminded me before that I listen too much to my feelings; however, I never seem to know what to do with that word of caution. It’s hard to change.

God tells us that without faith it’s impossible to please Him. I know that. Feelings are fickle and are really not trustworthy. I know that, too. But emotions and feelings are a part of me, so I still have to deal with them on some level.

One of the verses that has helped me over the years as I struggle between faith and feelings is I Cor. 5:7, which says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (NKJ)  The New Living Translation says, “For we live by believing and not by seeing.”

To be fair to this verse, it’s set in the context of the Apostle Paul’s teaching about the resurrection and how he is looking forward to living in heaven, having a new body, and being eternally in the Lord’s presence. As Paul writes this, he isn’t there yet. He still lives on the earth with a physical body and all its limitations. And from that I hear him say walk by faith, not by sight. Live believing, not by seeing. Walk by faith, not by feelings. I’m listening. I’m learning.

I’m not a huge Star Wars fan, but I enjoyed the movie many years ago when it first came out. I especially think of the time Luke Skywalker was practicing his saber fighting skills under the tutelage of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke wasn’t doing so well, and finally the elderly teacher blindfolded him and forced Luke to rely totally on the Force, a strength outside of himself, as he wielded his saber.

Now, please hear me, I’m not advocating we follow some sort of mystical unknown “force.”  My only analogy is that too often we think we can follow Jesus using our own human strength while God calls us to a higher life. The fact is following Jesus is supernatural. It’s beyond us. It involves things we cannot see with our eyes or hold in our hands. It’s spiritual, and the only way to deal with the spiritual is by faith.

The challenge is that even though we really can’t “stuff” our feelings and hide our emotions, we still cannot let them rule our lives and make our decisions. Do you know why it’s such a challenge? Because when we let our feelings and emotions guide us, our lives become self-serving and self-centered. Can you imagine Jesus saying, “Take up your cross and follow me. . . ” if you feel like it? But that is precisely the way our enemy would like us to live—self-centered with our feelings ruling the day!

Is there any hope? Surely. I invite you to tell God how you feel. He already knows you’re so mad you can’t see straight. He already knows you feel so discouraged you just want to crawl into a corner and curl up in a fetal position. Tell God how you feel. Recognize your emotions and feelings. Validate them, and then invite God to empower you to respond differently from the way you feel. The natural response seems to be our default mode, but we are looking for something that goes beyond natural. It’s the supernatural work of God in our lives. We may not always be successful. We may have moments when our feelings rule the day. But it’s not where we have to stay.

Walk by faith, not by feelings. That’s the life of following Jesus.

Pastor Tim  

For questions or comments you may email the pastor at timbev2@yahoo.com or the webmaster at hffinc@i-c.net