I came across this sermon of Martin Luther.

“I have often said before that feeling and faith are two different things. It is the nature of faith not to feel, to lay aside reason and close the eyes, to submit absolutely to the Word, and follow it in life and death. Feeling however does not extend beyond that which may be heard, seen, felt, and known by the outward senses.”

Some Christians say that you have to have faith in your heart, not your head. Unfortunately, that is often misunderstood as meaning you have to feel something inside to have faith. That’s wrong. Faith is not the same as feelings.

Feelings can betray us. It can cause us to do dumb things. Suppose you had a new puppy which you love dearly. You feel so good when you’re around it. You feed it and take it for walks. Then you wake up one morning to find it has chewed up your favorite pair of shoes. You don’t feel so good about it then. Should you therefore not feed or walk the puppy because you don’t feel so good about it? Of course not. You have to take care of it regardless of how you feel.

We need to trust God, to live in the way God teaches us regardless of how we feel at any given moment. Given this confusion about faith and feeling, maybe it would be better to say we have to be faithful rather than have faith. Whatever you feel, be faithful.

Read Psalm 149 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne