What’s the difference between faith and feelings?
The Devotional Answer
The devotional answer is that faith is a commitment of the will; feelings are simply an emotional response. Our feelings are powerful and wonderful gifts from God, but they are incredibly unreliable—they change based on how much sleep we get, what we ate for breakfast, or what happens in our day.
True faith, however, is based on the objective, unchanging truth of God's Word. When your feelings fail (as they will), your faith must stand firm on the facts of Scripture: that God loves you, Christ died for you, and His promises are true. Faith must be the engine pulling the train of your life; feelings are merely the caboose following along.
The Simple Answer
Faith is the trust in what is true (God’s promises and character), while feelings are subjective emotional states (happiness, doubt, despair).
Biblical faith is not believing without evidence; it is trusting God’s reliable Word above your changing experience.
Faith is Object-Centered: Its focus is outward, fixed on the Person of Jesus Christ and His completed work.
Feelings are Subject-Centered: Their focus is inward, centered on your current emotional state or circumstance.
When your feelings tell you God is far away (Question 49), your faith reminds you that He promised, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).
The Deeper Dive
The biblical definition of faith places it firmly in the realm of conviction and assurance, not emotional experience.
1. The Biblical Definition of Faith
The classic definition of faith confirms its nature as certainty, regardless of sensory input:
"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." — Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
Faith is a deliberate choice to live as if God's promises are already true, even when they are "unseen." It is choosing to believe God's character (that He is good) over the immediate evidence of your senses (that life is hard).
2. The Danger of Emotionalism
If you rely on positive feelings (like goosebumps during worship or a strong sense of joy) to determine whether your faith is "working," you will inevitably be disappointed. When those good feelings vanish, you will conclude that God has left you or that your salvation is lost.
This reliance on feelings turns your relationship into an emotional rollercoaster. God desires stability rooted in the conviction of His truth. When you worship or pray, you do it not because you feel like it, but because God commands it (a spiritual discipline, Question 47). The feelings of joy and peace often follow, but they are the result of faith, not the source of it.
3. Faith Honors God
It honors God most when you choose to trust Him even when your feelings scream otherwise. When you are suffering, or when you pray and nothing happens, that is the moment genuine, resilient faith is built. God doesn't need your enthusiasm; He needs your trusting obedience.
God's Assurance
God assures you that the object of your faith—Himself—is completely trustworthy, and that is where your security lies.
"For we walk by faith, not by sight." — 2 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV)
You are assured that your walk with God is guided by a resolute, inner trust in His Word, not by the shifting landscape of your circumstances or emotions.
Your Takeaway Thought
Do not try to manufacture good feelings; instead, focus on increasing your knowledge of the facts. Spend time reading and memorizing Scripture. When negative feelings or doubts arise (Question 39), don't push them away.
Instead, confront them with a specific promise from God's Word. Let the truth of Scripture anchor your soul against the storms of emotion.
