The most common misconception about faith is that it is based on feeling. The truth is that faith is a choice. God reveals His love to you, and you become aware that His existence is undeniable. You can’t see Him physically or prove Him scientifically, but deep down you know He’s real. It’s up to you to choose to believe He is Lord. If you’re someone who must have proof and loves logic, you will be tempted with thoughts and feelings that go against the belief that God is real and that He is Lord. You must make the choice to resist the doubting thoughts.
When you first gave your life to Jesus, you probably had strong feelings of faith. But that doesn’t mean feelings always have to be there. Real faith is enduring. Real faith is making the choice to submit your thoughts and feelings to the covenant you made with God the day you decided to follow Him. Real faith is choosing to believe the Word of God when your feelings don’t align with God’s truth. Faith is about obedience—obedience in taking God’s Word as truth.
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The Scripture doesn’t say “faith without feelings” is dead. It says “faith without works” is dead (James 2:26). Faith is an action, a choice to take what God says in His Word as truth. Faith is being like a child who just takes whatever their parent says as truth. The child doesn’t need evidence. The child doesn’t take time to question what the parent says. The child doesn’t believe only if their feelings match up with their belief. The child simply believes.
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One of the ways to “become like little children” (Matt. 18:3) is to have childlike faith. In the Gospels, when Jesus says things like “Your faith has made you well” (Matt. 9:22), this is the faith He is talking about. In speaking to Jairus after his daughter had died (Mark 5:21-43), Jesus revealed a key that would release the miracle of Resurrection: just believe. Many times after Jesus healed or delivered a person, He shared with them why this miracle took place: because they believed!
God measures faith by your words and actions, not your feelings. With this revelation, nothing can stop you from having huge faith. Without this revelation, you would always have a wishy-washy, up-and-down faith; on the mountaintops you would have faith, but in the valleys you would doubt.
The spiritual war we are in is centered mostly in the mind. The mind is where our thoughts and feelings are. If you’ve ever had an unwelcome thought intrude into your mind, that was not your thought. It was the devil’s ammunition. He was hoping you would be tricked into thinking it was your own original thought and therefore would believe the thought was the truth. From there you would then act out that truth and live in it. This is the enemy’s main strategy against every person. By getting you to believe his lies, he’s actually granted authority by you and therefore can dictate your life.
By saying, “Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5b, NIV), the Bible is telling you that you will have thoughts that are not your own but are from the enemy. That includes thoughts of doubt such as “I don’t think I will be healed” and “I don’t know if God really wants to heal me.” You don’t have to accept those thoughts as your own. When you accept Jesus as Lord, you accept Him in all His ways. His main way of speaking is through His Word. Jesus is the embodiment of the Word: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
When you choose to make Jesus your Lord, you’re also choosing to make the Word your truth. In the Word it says that by His stripes you are healed (1 Pet. 2:24b). It also says that you have an inheritance from God and that “the thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]” (John 10:10, AMP).
These Scriptures are now your truth, no matter how you feel about them on any given day. Your choice is more powerful than your feelings. You have authority over your feelings. Your feelings must submit to your authority. God does not make it difficult to have faith. You don’t have to wait for the feelings to come. You don’t have to wait for the devil to stop attacking your mind. You can use the authority God has given you and take action now! You can reject the devil’s lies and choose God’s truth by speaking it aloud. Your confession is what God counts as faith. You can have many thoughts that you won’t be healed, but God is not looking at your feelings. He’s listening to what you speak.
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Kathryn Krick is a rising online influencer and founding lead pastor of Five-Fold Church in Los Angeles, where many miracles happen and people are healed, delivered and equipped to be powerful vessels of God. Her new book, “Unlock Your Deliverance,” is available at this link.
