Faith Myths

Myth #1: My faith isn't real if I don't feel it.
Truth: It is not hypocritical to choose faith when the feeling is absent. In fact, true faith is a decision, not a feeling.

Most of the time I don't feel great faith. My feelings come and go, and are influenced by circumstances. If I allow emotion to determine when to trust God, I'll ride a spiritual roller coaster. Emotion-based faith is strong when charged by worship services and Christian gatherings, but shrivels when faced with adversity.

Ralph W Sockman, D.D. urges believers not to rely on emotion:
"Habit must play a larger place in our religious life. We worship when we feel like it, we pray when we feel like it. We read the Bible when we feel like it. Leaving our religious exercises to the promptings of impulse, we become creatures of impulse rather than soldiers of Christ. An army made up of creatures of impulse would be only a mob. So is a church."

God cares about my feelings and uses them to sense the working of His Spirit, but I cannot count on them to gauge truth. It is actually a matter of the will. Saying no to my natural tendencies and yes to God is a spiritual discipline honed by purposeful, daily intake of His word, and claiming His promises for myself. Just like building muscle, faith in Jesus Christ grows strong with intentional use.

Emotions carry us to random places. A whim shifts from one thing to another based on whatever strikes its fancy. Yet anyone can choose faith at any time, regardless of feeling. Trusting God when we don't feel like it, or when our feelings are contrary, is what He considers "faith more precious than gold" ( 1 Peter 1:7).