Faith and Feelings

I've been following a Facebook discussion this past week that has been entertaining at best, but mostly unsettling. It has to do with a pastor who creates amazing and (literally) unbelievable experiences for his church. This online conversation has been heated, and intense at times as everyone involved is very passionate about the "side" that they are on.

This church is drawing many people, and the argument is that if his methods are working, then why question it? If he is bringing people to Jesus, then what's wrong? Why the controversy?

One of the big issues I see with this particular pastor's methods is that is plays on the emotions of the people. It gives them such an incredible experience, that surely it must be God doing these things. I'm sure that for those there, who believe in the charades, it is an amazing experience.

But the problem is that faith is not about feelings. It is not based on experience.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

We do not need extravegant experiences in order for faith to be real. This method of drawing people to faith is dangerous, because is bases faith on emotions. What happens if the feelings fade, and the experiences don't happen very frequently? (On a side note, these same questions can be asked of our marriages. We see often in our culture what happens to couples who don't "feel" anything for each other anymore.)

I'll tell you what can happen. It can cause a person to question their faith, and even the existance of God. But the truth is, God still exists, and is still as active as ever even when we don't "feel" his presence, or experience magnificent emotional highs.

This is particularly dangerous with today's emerging adults and teenagers, because they base so much of their reality on experience. If these worship experiences are being presented as reality, and that's what they base their faith on, then their faith is bound to falter at one point or another.

I had a conversation recently with a young woman who said that she was questioning her faith because she had never really felt God in her life. This is precisely the danger that I'm talking about.

We cannot base our faith on our feelings, because "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9

Will we have great experiences with God? Of course. He is God, and He is awesome by nature, so we will experience great things with Him, but we will also experience difficulties, and periods in life when we "feel" distant from God. If we ground our faith in the scripture, and who God says He is, and not on our human emotions, then during these times of hardship our faith will not falter.

God is always God. No matter what.