Faith Is Not a Feeling

by Ney Bailey

1978

A product of my book buying habit, I can’t even guess how long Faith Is Not a Feeling has been on my bookshelf. 

And what a book.

I wish I had read it years ago.

Author, Ney Bailey, has been on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ (now called Power to Change) for more than 46 years and I’m sure she has many stories to share about what God has done in the lives of others.

However, the real story is hers.  

A Christian since she was fifteen, a testing point in Ney’s faith came on the evening of July 31, 1976.

On that day, Ney was attending a retreat with thirty-four other Campus Crusade women at a ranch in the Big Thompson Canyon, Colorado. 

Suddenly, there was a call for immediate evacuation of the ranch.

The Big Thompson River was flooding.

The women scrambled and confusion ensued.

Any clear instructions lost in the chaos.

Four cars went one way, two in another.

The outcome?

Seven out of nine women in the two died.

All women, including Ney, in the four survived.

Ney writes that, in the midst of the flood and the days that followed, she had to make a decision.

Would she believe what her circumstances dictated or would she believe what God said in His Word.

The choice wasn’t easy.

Circumstances spelled fear, panic, weakness. The unknown.

The desire to understand. 

All completely natural responses.

God’s Word says trust Him. He is in control.

He works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

Nothing in our lives happens except for what God allows.

All completely unnatural responses.

Ney chose the unnatural.

To believe God.
To trust Him.

To live by faith...

Do I live by faith?

Living by faith, or taking God at His Word, means that no matter what circumstances surround me I trust what God has said in His Word to be true.

1Peter 1:25

            But the word of the Lord endures forever.

Everything in this world will change.

Everything in my life will change.

But God’s Word will stay the same.  

To quote Ney,

God’s Word is

·        Truer than anything I feel

·        Truer than anything I experience

·        Truer than any circumstance I will ever face

·        Truer than anything in the world

The way I see it, 
I can choose to believe my feelings, thoughts or circumstances, letting them control my life, and consequently live in a state of unrest; or I can choose to take God at His word, letting Him have complete control over my life, and sleep in the shadow of His wings.

Trust that God will take care of the details.

As God is the only constant in life, personally, the choice is easy.
I’d much rather believe Him than be swayed by the ups and downs of my circumstances and emotions.

How about you?

Of course, this decision depends on will.

Choosing with my will to take God at His Word.
Could a four letter word ever be so hard?

The will to trust God.
Exactly what Satan doesn’t want.

Satan uses our circumstances and emotions to make things seem like truth when they're really not.  

1 Peter 5:8 talks of Satan prowling around like a roaring lion looking for the areas where I am especially vulnerable.

So, what should be my response?

Take up the shield of faith against Satan’s fiery darts.

And remember, Satan is a defeated foe.

Jesus already beat him on the cross.

“If we act upon God’s Word, if we take Him at His Word, we will be wise, and our lives will be solidly set on the rock of His words. If we don’t take Him at His Word – if we rely on our circumstances and feelings rather than what the Bible tells us, we will be foolish, building our lives upon the sand.”

Reading on...