Matthew 10:16
As a father was beginning to teach his son to ride a bike, he made a special effort to explain what to expect. He said, “Son, at first, I will guide you with my hand on your back to help you balance. As you progress, I will remove my hand so that you can learn to balance without feeling me. I’ll still be near enough to catch you if you fall so don’t be afraid. Listen to my voice as I give you directions to follow. I just want you to know that even when you don’t feel my hand anymore, I will still be right there with you.”
I think this story illustrates the Christian experience crisply. Early in our walk with God, there is a fiery excitement that illumines us when we read the Bible, fellowship with others and engage in evangelism. Over time, most would agree that they’ve reached a point where they ask the benumbing question: “Where did my fire go?” Where we were once driven by inner passion, we later feel dryness. Does this mean that we have lost our way? It could mean the opposite. I have concluded that as we grow in maturity, it becomes more necessary for us to learn to exercise faith (trust) in our heavenly Father especially when our feelings don’t align.
We Must Go to Grow
The mission of salvation is one in which the God of creation has employed humans to share. Something I have noticed about Jesus’ ministry is that it resembled that of an apprenticeship. He didn’t teach in a classroom setting but an open field which helped His lessons to sink in. In Matthew 10:16, Jesus told His students, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Notice the words “I send you out.” Jesus could’ve imparted the knowledge His followers needed just by breathing it into them yet He incorporated experiences to aid in their growth. Comfort and convenience are the enemies of development and God wants us to develop into His likeness!
For the disciples to apply what was shared with them they needed to be sent out from the nest. While they were on a mission, there were times when they did not feel the nearness of Jesus. He wasn’t always physically there to confirm their choices before they made them. In other words, they didn’t feel His presence during each step of their journey and they weren’t expected to. They were expected to trust His teachings and trust doesn’t depend on feelings.
Feelings Can Mislead Us
To expound on this point, let me share from two sources that have already succeeded at doing so. The first is from a book titled His Robe or Mines: “Feelings are Satan’s special avenue through which he works…Have you ever felt the exhilaration of an indulged moment of sin? Eve, under the spell of feelings, became the instrument through which Adam fell. Through feelings, Satan is still destroying or modifying the knowledge of God as revealed to humanity.” Pg.86,87.
The second is from a book titled The Screwtape Letters. “Sooner or later He (God) withdraws, if not in fact, at least from their conscious experience… He leaves the creature (humans) to stand up on its own legs, to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish (feelings). It is during such trough periods, much more than during peak periods, that it (human being) is growing into the sort of creature He (God) wants it (him/her) to be. Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best.” Pg.40. The context of the second quotation above is a mature demon writing a letter to his nephew on how to lead people into temptation.
And the prophet Jeremiah expressed: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Berean Standard Version
Faith is with the Mind
It’s helpful to note that when the bible refers to the “heart” regarding believing, it is referring to the mind. The Greek word kardia is translated as mind and heart. Such references are dealing with the act of the will. “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved.” Romans 10:10. English Standard Version. In the Garden of Eden, God wanted Adam to submit his feelings to the government of his understanding (mind). Yet we see that Adam followed Eve in distrusting Divine guidance not based on the information God gave him but from another source. Many decisions are made daily because of what feels right.
Although emotions and feelings are not wrong in themselves. When it comes to exercising saving faith we cannot afford to depend on anything other than the revealed word of God as it is fixed in the mind. There are times when all we have to act on is what we know to be right despite our feelings. With mind, the choice to follow Jesus is made. May we make this decision based on the evidence made clear to us by God’s good grace.