Faith Over Feelings: 3 Truths to Help You Pursue God When You Don’t Feel Like It

One of the most frustrating challenges a Christian can face is learning to trust our faith over our feelings. This can be especially true during a difficult season when we feel distant from God. In those seasons, we may find ourselves experiencing spiritual exhaustion, discouragement, and a sense of discontentment in our faith. What do we do when we struggle to trust our faith over our feelings? How do we move forward when we don’t feel motivated in our faith walk?

In this article, we’ll explore three truths to help you trust your faith over your feelings and pursue God even when you don’t feel close to Him. 

Truth #1: Experiencing Doubt, Anger, or Spiritual Exhaustion is Normal

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. (Ephesians 4:26-27 ESV)

The first truth that will help us to trust our faith over our feelings is that our feelings are normal. According to Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, there is a time for every activity, including emotional moments. This is because God gave us our feelings, and they are a part of what makes us human. Our emotions also serve a vital function in that they often act as indicators of our spiritual and mental wellbeing. For example, it is natural for us to feel angry when we are wronged or to grieve when we experience loss. This means that we don’t need to be hard on ourselves when we experience strong emotion.

In Ephesians 4:26-27 (ESV) the Bible says, “be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” This verse acknowledges that it is okay to feel emotions such as anger. Furthermore, it tells us how to respond in a godly way—we need to work through our emotions while faithfully following God’s principles.

Put Faith Over Feelings:

If we are going to trust our faith over our feelings, we need to treat ourselves with grace. We need to understand that it is okay to have feeling and desires. Instead of denying our feelings, we need to choose to explore them in a spiritually healthy way.

Truth #2: Trusting Your Faith Over Your Feelings Means Not Letting Your Feelings Guide Your Faith

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

The second truth that will help us to trust our faith over our feelings is that our feelings shouldn’t guide us in making decisions regarding our faith walk. This is because our feelings can’t be trusted. In fact, the Bible warns us in Jeremiah 17:9 that our hearts are deceitful. Instead of trusting our feelings, we are called to purify (James 4:8) and guard our hearts (Proverbs 4:23). In short, we are actually called to bring our feelings into alignment with God’s principles and not the other way around! 

This can be a difficult truth, especially since today’s culture encourages us to trust our feelings wholeheartedly. However, the Bible reminds us that we need to submit our feelings to God. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says that “we [should] demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” This verse reaffirms that we need to trust our faith over our feelings and not put our feelings above God’s Word. 

Put Faith Over Feelings:

Instead of letting our feelings lead us, we are called to bring them under the authority of our Heavenly Father. We can do this by being protective of hearts and challenging any feelings that tempt us to disobey God’s Word. When we do these things, we can avoid making emotion driven decisions that could lead us to sin.

Truth #3: Walking in Faith Requires Spiritual Discipline When You Feel Distant from God

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)

The last truth that will help us trust our faith over our feelings is that we must develop spiritual discipline as Christians. Often times, we feel like being a Christian should make our lives easier. However, that is not necessarily true. While God loves us and blesses us, we are still living in a fallen world touched by sin. In fact, Jesus warns us of this truth in John 16:33 when He said, “in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” This verse reminds us of the uncomfortable truth that life on this side of heaven will not be easy. 

While Jesus has overcome sin, death, and the evil in this world, we may still experience difficult moments that can deflate our faith and strip us of joy. In fact, Jesus warned us that we may be hated by the world and persecuted for our faith (John 15:18-20). He also hinted to the spiritual warfare that the enemy wages against us. In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus warned Peter that Satan wanted to destroy him. This verse reminds us that not only are we exposed to challenges from living in a sinful world but that we have a spiritual enemy who is trying to sabotage us. Lastly, Jesus calls us to “take up our cross” in Matthew 16:24. His words in Matthew 16 are a call for us to die to ourselves in order to live righteously for God. 

Put Faith Over Feelings:

When we look at Jesus’s messages about living the Christian life throughout scripture, it is clear that we will need spiritual discipline to truly walk out our faith. We need to develop healthy faith habits, sacrifice for our faith, and learn to persevere through trials so that we can live out our faith even when we feel distant from God.

Final Encouragement for Trusting Our Faith Over Our Feelings

If you’re struggling with trusting your faith over your feelings, know that you can overcome this period of spiritual exhaustion and find victory. Ezekiel 36:26-27 reminds us that God has put a new heart in us and given us the Holy Spirit to help us in our walk of faith. You are not alone! God loves you and has provided the help necessary for you to renew your faith. 

Jesus also reminds us that we can turn to Him for refuge. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, “come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Our faith is not meant for us to struggle with alone. Instead, we can turn to our loving savior and receive rest and refreshment for our souls when we are tired and discouraged! 

Key Takeaways for Trusting Our Faith Over Our Feelings:

• It’s normal to experience doubt, anger, or spiritual exhaustion. Instead of denying our feelings, we need to work through them in a godly way
• Our feelings can deceive us. We need to submit our feelings to our Heavenly Father in order to trust our faith over our feelings
• We should purify and protect our hearts. When we do, we can avoid sinful emotion driven decisions
• Living the Christian life requires spiritual discipline. Even when we feel distant from God we can practice health faith habits and sacrifice for our faith 
• We are not alone when we’re struggling in our faith. God has promised us rest through Jesus and help through the Holy Spirit

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How do you work through feeling distant from God? I’d love to hear from you in the comments! Share a time when you trusted your faith over your feelings.