Faith and Sense

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)

“So”, there is one message of salvation and one way of being saved. The message – Christ died and rose again, on behalf of sinners. The way – believe in your heart that God who raised Jesus from the dead, and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.

Faith in God, always comes from hearing the Word of God. But sometimes, we as believers confuse things. Life is hard and painful at times, or most of the time. So, we get distracted by our painful feelings, feelings of being abandoned by God in our suffering. And, so we go backwards, and rather than take God at his faithful and unchanging Word, we try to feel after him. Like those that don't know God, they wait...hoping, “...they might feel their way toward him and find him.” (Acts 17:27)

I love the title of a book, by Martin Lloyd-Jones, “Truth unchanged, unchanging”. Some time ago, when I was feeling as if God left me in my suffering, the Holy Spirit brought this title to my memory, just when I was going to bed, and crying out to God, to show me he is with me. Immediately I saw my mistake! Once again I saw, that God's truth has not changed and goes on unchanging, because of God's unchanging nature. He is faithful to his word, he is a man of his word! He made a covenant with his Son and the Holy Spirit, to redeem and save all that put their faith/trust, in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, his Son, on their behalf. I was overjoyed, I could hardly sleep, and praised God, for his unchangeable nature – his faithfulness to his promises.

Therefore, I need not to wait for a sense that God loves me, and is with me before I come to him in prayer and meditation on his Word. But I must come, “Just as I am” asking his blessing on reading and thinking on his Word, and so in this way, faith is born in my heart. And joy, feeling of joy rises withing me, and I praise God, for his “Amazing Grace” to me. As someone has put it so neatly, but truthfully, “FACT, FAITH, FEELING”, that is the order for knowing and experiencing God. And from such joyous faith, the result will be this - "Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you." (Psalm 51:13)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13)