Feelings vs. Facts

by Tiffany S.
from Virtuous Daughters, July 2008~Volume 8, Number 4

…Lately the Lord has been teaching me many lessons. He has especially been reminding me to claim His promises and that feelings don’t change the facts

As Christians, we must rely on the Word of God. There will be times when we feel “out of sorts,” discouraged, or perhaps we will fail to feel God’s presence. Someone has compared the facts (of God’s Word) to a solid book; and our feelings are like a football. Our feelings may fluctuate, but we can always rest assured that the Word of God is unchangeable.

When you have feelings of discouragement, loneliness, fear, or stress, claim the promises of God’s Word! How you feel is insignificant when you consider the power and steadfastness of the Lord’s promises.
    Have you ever felt discouraged? Most of us would say yes. Sometimes circumstances cause us to feel “down”; other times we can hardly pinpoint a reason for our feelings. But Psalm 42 brings us hope! “My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?...Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”—vv. 3, 11 The power of those words--Who is my God--is amazing! Just thinking about the fact that we belong to God is pure joy!

Have you ever felt insignificant? Think about this: your omnipotent God is actually interested in the minute details of your daily life. Although we acknowledge that fact, I don’t know if we always grasp it. Psalm 56:8 tells us that God puts our tears in a bottle; many Scriptures remind us that He listens to and answers our prayers. Jesus said in Matthew 10 that the hairs on our head are numbered and that we are worth more than sparrows. (God is aware of every sparrow that falls out of a tree.) These are not just sweet remarks to make us smile—every word of God is true—we can take Him at His Word!!

Have you ever felt lonely? Sometimes it’s a loneliness for friends or fellowship; other times we might even feel that God is distant. Don’t let your feelings dominate; remember the facts! “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”—Hebrews 13:5,6

Have you ever felt that you were seeking God in vain? Possibly you longed to know Him better, but the relationship just didn’t seem to be getting stronger. Have faith! He promises that you will reap if you faint not (Gal. 6:9). “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”—Hebrews 11:6 This same chapter reminds us that Sarah “judged Him faithful who had promised.” God will never fail us. We can count on Him to fulfill what He has promised.

Have you ever felt afraid? I appreciate the story of Peter—he was able to walk on water as long as he had faith and kept his eyes on Christ. But when he saw the waves, he became afraid and began to sink. We are very much like that. As real as the “waves” are in our life, if we are focused on Jesus, He will enable us to walk in faith. But there is never reason to fear, because we have the great I AM as our God. “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”—Psalm 27:1

Have you ever felt disappointed? Whether that frustration is minor or major, you have the victory in Christ to claim the promises of God’s Word and cling to them for comfort! “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”—Psalm 27:14

Have you ever felt defeated? Satan likes to rob us of our joy by causing us to think that we are too sinful and will never overcome our spiritual weaknesses. In the name of Christ you may cast out the enemy and remember the truth! “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”—1 Corinthians 15:57 We should also remember that when we accept Jesus as Savior, He becomes our righteousness. It is true that in ourselves we are unfit for God’s kingdom (our righteousness is as filthy rags); but Christ justifies us by putting His righteousness on us. When God sees a Christian, He sees His Son! That thought is definitely too wonderful to fully comprehend, but it is a fact to accept with joy and awe. “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”—2 Corinthians 5:21
We can’t deny the reality of feelings. I know from experience that some feelings can really get you down! But when I am struggling with feelings, I try to continually “judge Him faithful who has promised.” I pray, (it is helpful to actually pray the Scriptures, such as the Psalms), read the Word, and claim those promises. This does not mean that I immediately “feel” better; however it does mean that I am placing my faith in the facts of God’s Word rather than my own unstable feelings.

I am not trying to leave the impression that feelings are a bad thing. Actually, they are wonderful—God created us with feelings for a definite reason. But we must keep in mind that just like a football, we never know “how they’ll bounce.” You’ve probably been given the advice to “control your feelings; don’t let your feelings control you.” The reason is obvious. Our feelings are affected by our health, our relationships with others, circumstances, sometimes even the weather or a story we read. Because of this, we must remember that facts are facts, whether we feel them or not! I like the following analogy: suppose you given $1,000,000 from your great aunt. The fact is clear: you are rich. But you might think, “I don’t feel rich.” That doesn’t change the fact that you are rich. 

Keep the right perspective. When feelings seem to be getting the best of you or Satan appears to be striving to defeat you, claim the promises of God’s Word. You can count on Him! He will not fail to fulfill every word He has spoken. (That’s a fact that you can be sure of!) “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”—Isaiah 55:11 


Learning with You,
Tiffany