The Difference Between Faith and Feelings
When we talk about having faith in Jesus and trusting the Lord we are talking about a reality which is unaffected by our feelings. Yet, daily our feelings tell us something contrary to the hope we have in Christ. And so we must be vigilant with our emotions. Your emotions matter. You do not and should not always be happy. But your feelings are not the assurance of things hoped for nor the conviction of things unseen (see Hebrews 11:1). Your feelings are not your faith. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones helps us to walk this important line of being grounded in our faith while not diminishing nor centering our emotions. Specifically, feelings should be engaged. He says, "Feelings are meant to be engaged, and when the gospel comes to us it does involve the whole man ... it moves his mind ... his heart ... his will" (Spiritual Depression, 111). But how ought we engage our feelings that they might be rightly placed within the story of our faith?
Based upon Lloyd-Jones series, here are what I hope will be four helpful questions to ask about our feelings in order to put them in their proper place ...
Do my feelings make sense? Something we feel a bunch of things that are not true. And our feelings are only as helpful as they are grounded in reality. To be sure, no matter what we are feeling that is "our truth" or "our experience" but we need God's word and God's people and God's Spirit to hold our feeling to account for reality. That means we should be in the habit of bringing our emotions to the Lord and to our church family so that we'll know the difference between the truth and a lie. That's the essence of 1 John 4:1 ... Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. Sometimes your feelings don't make sense and they should not be trusted.
Do my feelings reveal sin? Sometimes God sends emotions our way to get our attention. For instance, you may be feeling sorrow because you are sinning. Or you may be feeling anger because you've been sinned against. Our feelings are tool in which God's Spirit reveals sin. We see this in the way the psalmist is drawn to the hope of God in his sorrow, and also because of his sin God sent an evil spirit to torment King Saul (1 Samuel 16). Here's the point, if you are sinning you are not going to feel great. But that feeling is not an indication your faith is not real. Rather it is an indication you need to repent. Sometimes your feelings reveal sin and you should repent. Sometimes your feelings reveal the sins of another, seek reconciliation.
Are my feelings too important right now? I think there are a couple ways to discern if this is the case. When our feelings have the final say, they are too important to us. When our emotions dictate the ways we interact with the world and the way in which we demand the world interacts with us, they are too important. Also, Llyod-Jones exposes that we are prone in various situations, before anything else to ask ourselves, what do I feel? Rather than what is true? What does the Bible say about this situation? What does the Bible say about my sister or brother or neighbor? What does God say about me? We often instead begin with our feelings. This is a mistake. Feelings are too important when they have the final say ... when they dictate how we engage and others engage us ... when they are the first place we go to in a situation.
Where is my real joy? Lloyd-Jones explains, "there is all the difference in the world between rejoicing and feeling happy" (115). Happiness is something within our selves. Rejoicing is something in the Lord. Philippians 4:3 ... "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice."While emotions are not central, there is a central reality to our feelings in Christ ... and it is joy. Joy is the clear biblical overlap between faith and feelings. Sometimes our joy feels like sorrow (an angst over brokenness). Sometimes our joy feels like anger (a response to injustice). Sometimes our joy feels like happiness (a response to intimacy with the God of the universe). Sometimes our joy feels like melancholy (a restlessness in this already but not yet kingdom of God).
Through God's Word .... God's people ... and God's Spirit we test our feelings. That's how we live with faith in Christ. Our feelings should always be engaged, they matter. But God's truth should always prevail upon our feelings not the other way around. That's how we make sure Jesus is our center, not ourselves. To be sure, sometimes we need help outside our immediate church family. That's okay. Sometimes our story and emotions and care are beyond our ability to understand or the community's understanding. That's okay. Counseling and mental and emotional care are not shameful, but heroic endeavors of God's common grace. However I think this is a good place to begin ... to consider God's word, talk with his people, and ask ourselves questions like these. In other words, we may need to do more than check our feelings with true faith, but we never need less.
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**Except from Sunday's sermon, Christ: Our Justifier.