But when you hid your face, I was dismayed. Psalm 30:7 (NIV)
When your feelings contradict your faith, you must decide which to believe. Consider these two statements: God is here and I do not experience God as being here.
There is no contradiction between these two statements. Both can be true at the same time. God is here is a statement about God. I do not experience God as being here is a statement about you.
The Bible speaks often about times when we cannot feel God’s presence, strength, or comfort. These are times when God hides His face from us.
Geoffrey Bull was a missionary who served in China. But it wasn’t easy. They put him in prison, tortured him, and terribly abused him. When they finally released him, he found it difficult to say the Lord’s Prayer with meaning.
At first, he thought he had lost his faith and the Lord had abandoned him. After a time, he realized his body and psyche had been so traumatized that he had temporarily lost the capacity of sensing the presence of God.
When you hit your funny bone, your whole arm goes numb. Great traumas can have the same effect on the soul—for a time. You simply do not have the capacity to experience God’s presence, comfort, or strength. Your soul is numb.
Jeremiah gives a wonderful example for the times when our feelings contradict our faith. His soul is being hit with a thousand unanswered questions, but he chooses to trust the Word of God more than he trusts himself.
Sometimes, you confess Jesus is Lord with raised hands and a joyful heart. At other times, you confess through gritted teeth and many tears. In the course of a lifetime, God will give you the opportunity to glorify Him both ways.
When your feelings contradict your faith, you have to make a choice: Are you going to believe your faith? Or are you going to believe your feelings?
