Fact/Faith/Feeling

 January 18, 2022

Two days ago, I missed Sunday School due to a preaching engagement in my old Dunkirk congregation, but I have the study guide and Linda’s relating the gist of the class discussion as fodder for today’s meditation. But first, the Scripture that is the foundation of my thinking:

“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” —I Thessalonians 4:14-18 

The discussion Sunday revolved in part around this question from the study guide: “Why is it necessary to FEEL His presence?” (Emphasis in the original). Some were adamant about this necessity, while others weren’t convinced. 

While I would be among the first to acknowledge that the emotions, the awareness of God’s presence is a wonderful thing, the Scriptures are notably lacking in such terminology. The Psalms I admit, often enjoin us to praise and give thanks with joyful hearts, but plenty of them are psalms of lament, with the author raging against injustice. 

I find it interesting that in the text above (and in many others I could cite), feelings are not mentioned. Believing is. We are never encouraged to feel the presence of God, but we are commanded to believe in it. There is a world of difference. Let me explain.

On July 4, 1776, 56 men signed a document that even today has an enormous effect upon my life: the Declaration of Independence. I can read about the events surrounding the signing of this document, but I don’t have to feel anything at all for it to have its effect upon my life. Whether I am happy or sad, good or bad, this event created an entirely new reality, the impact of which continues more than 250 years later. 

In the same way, Jesus’ death and resurrection created a new reality that is not in any way dependent upon my feelings. The only response required is faith—believing that this actually happened. If I chose to disbelieve what those 56 men did 250 years ago, it wouldn’t change the new reality they created, but it would impact my participation in it. I could choose to forfeit the freedoms and rights that, and the Constitution afford me. But in either case, how I feel has no bearing on the effect of either the Declaration or the work of Christ on the cross. 

Do I like feeling the presence of God? Of course! But I am also glad that he remains present even through those dark times when I feel nothing at all. I believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that he is coming again. Sometimes I have to remind myself of what I believe most deeply; so much of what goes on in this world claims to be the only reality. THAT thought is depressing! But it’s only a thought; what I believe is in the finished work of Christ on the cross, his resurrection and ascension, and his coming again to set this sad world straight. And what I believe becomes the basis for what I feel; not the other way around.

Look at what I call the Fact/Faith/Feeling steam train. The Fact of Jesus’ work is the engine. Faith is the coal car. Feeling is the rest of the train. If I shovel coal into the Feelings, the train just sits there. I have to shovel my faith into the Fact of Christ’s work of salvation if the train is to start moving. Too many of us shovel all our faith into the train instead of the engine and wonder why we just sit there immobile. Shoveling my faith into the Engine of God’s work in Christ always gets the train moving.