But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. – Hebrews 10:38

 

Often our feelings and emotions are mistakenly substituted for faith. Pleasurable emotions and deep, satisfying experiences are part of the Christian life, but they are not the essence of it. –
Streams in the Desert

“I’m not feelin’ it.” I’ve used that expression to describe everything from carne asada to music. It is to say, there is something about [whatever it is] that I can’t connect with emotionally (Yes, there have been burritos that have had an emotional impact on my life. They are few and far between. But, I’m certain, I’m different because of them.). It’s as if, with everything — even the most mundane — that inherent worth is directly proportional to emotional outcomes. The way we talk about anything: Coldplay’s last live show, Apple smart-watches, sedans, or Nikes  — all of it evokes an emotional response. When something lacks that emotional connection, we’re quick to disregard it.

What happens, then, when God doesn’t feel the need to make us “feel?” We tend to have an expectation that God can sustain us so long as following Him can be connected to a powerful emotional experience. Sometimes we wonder, in those instances where we don’t have such an encounter with God, if He’s really there. In that moment, God’s very existence seems to hinge our ability to employ our psycho-experiential radar effectively.

And yet, what if, in those moments God intends to grow us in a decidedly uncomfortable, yet necessary way? He’ll take us on a journey that is absent of emotional euphoria. In so doing, God begins to separate Himself from all other consumable things to which we attach emotional value. He’s more interested in growing us than coddling us. He seems to be far more concerned with who we are becoming rather than what merely pacifies our need for attention. It’s in this portion of the faith-journey — a time the early church fathers called “The Dark Night of the Soul” — that 
many people decide that faith is no longer for them. It lacks the ever-present jubilance of other seasons. But, the long-term journey of faith is just that: long. The long view of faith is far more than a few brief moments of ebullient sentimentality. It is to be transformed by God into something we could not become without Him.

This Sunday, Doug Fields will pick up where we left off this past weekend, continuing in our series: THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. It will be a great opportunity to bring your friends and neighbors as Doug always delivers powerful truths in a compelling and humorous way. It’s going to be great!

See you Sunday,

Jeff