Last week we began a new series on healing — specifically regarding the three primary components, faith, facts, and feelings.
We spent a lot of time in part one dealing with the foundation of knowing God’s will, because that’s one of the most common areas of doubt for many believers. I’m not going to go over that again today, so if you haven’t yet seen part one, here’s a link for you to see part one first, and then return here for part two.
Today we’ll continue from last week’s principal of Jesus being the revealed will of God, and discuss how to practically apply that knowledge in daily living.
Facts vs. Feelings
In the previous segment, we dealt with the issue of faith and knowing God’s will through the revelation (revealing) of Jesus Christ. Now let’s focus on facts and feelings.
Feelings can be challenging to navigate. Speaking spiritually, there’s a tug-of-war that sometimes happens between what we experience, and what the scriptures teach. Too often, Christians give way to feelings, and let their experience dictate their doctrine rather than the scripture.
For some, I know that this is difficult to hear… and I know that this might be something different than what you’ve heard or been taught in church your entire life, but it’s essential to experience victory in Christ, and especially in the area of healing, because feelings and experiences can be very “loud” and tough to ignore. Yet we see this example repeatedly in scripture.
The most famous example is found in Matthew 8:23, when the disciples were crossing the water in a boat with Jesus. During the journey, a storm arose, and the wind and waves became very threatening. As we examine the story, we can see that the disciples become afraid, and they accuse Jesus saying “Lord, we are dying!” Or as Mark’s account records in 4:38: “Don’t you care that we die?”
Notice the area where doubt creeped in… they doubted God’s will. They didn’t doubt His ability, otherwise there would’ve point no point in calling out to Jesus, much less accusing Him of not caring, but they doubted Jesus’ willingness to help them. And that’s where most Christians are at today; they certainly believe that God can heal, but they doubt His will to do so. But if the disciples were paying attention, they would’ve realized that Jesus had already told them His will. Before they began this journey across the water, both Mark and Luke record Jesus saying “Let us cross over to the other side” (Mark 4:35, Luke 8:22) — Jesus already stated His will… they were going to cross over the water and make it to the other side; He made His will known, but in that moment with the waves tossing and the wind blowing, the disciples lost sight of the facts and focused on their feelings. They allowed their circumstances and situation to speak louder than the truth which Jesus had spoken to them.
Friend, it’s a dangerous and deadly game when we allow feelings and situations to shape our doctrine rather than the revealed word of God (Jesus).
As I mentioned earlier, there are some who have completely abandoned the idea of healing because they have had negative experiences. And they allow their experiences to determine their doctrine rather than Jesus. And so they’ve completely thrown out everything we read in scripture regarding healing, and find high-minded arguments to explain every example away. It’s a self-defeating cycle, because the less they believe, the more negative experiences they will have, and the more negative experiences they have, the less they’ll believe.
So in reality, Jesus isn’t their God, their own circumstances and feelings are… they’re deceived, and living a lie.
Facing Giants in Faith
So how should we react in circumstances? In the book of Numbers chapter 13, we see another picture, and a stark contrast between facts and feelings, when the Israelites were journeying to the land of promise. As they approach, the people sent twelve spies into the land to see what was there. We’ve covered this before and I encourage you to read the details in verses 25 through 33, but as we close today, I want to focus on the two different perspectives and how they stem from facts versus feelings.
Ten of the spies come back with what the scriptures call “an evil report” — not just a wrong report, or a doubtful report, but an evil report. Let that detail speak to you, but it can shed additional light on what’s really going on in the hearts and minds of people when it comes to facts versus feelings.
These ten spies return with a fear-inducing defeated perspective focusing on the intimidating giants inhabiting the land, the highly-fortified walls, and how weak the Israelites are in comparison to the warriors in that land.
The scriptures record that the vast majority of people listened to the report of the spies and as a result, couldn’t enter the land. The two other spies, Joshua and Caleb, had a different perspective, though. Two times they exclaimed that they are well-able to take the land ( Caleb first in 13:30, and then Joshua and Caleb together in 14:7-8). Even going as far as to say that the defenders there were “bread” for them.
Why was Joshua and Caleb’s perspective so different than the other ten spies? God says in 14:24 that Caleb “has a different spirit” and in 14:30, only Joshua and Caleb were allowed to enter the land from that generation.
What was different about Caleb’s spirit? He believed God’s promise, rather than his own perception, feeling, and experience.
We know from the scriptures that God had already promised the Israelites that this land was theirs – that’s why it’s called the Promise Land to begin with; because it was “promised” to the Israelites.
God promised it to them, not once, not twice, but three times… in Genesis chapters 15, 26, and 28. Unlike the others, Caleb believes what God said, instead of what he sees, feels, and thinks.
God’s facts, over man’s feelings, and because of that Caleb could inherit what was promised… let that speak to you.
Conclusion
I encourage you today. Let God’s promises truly reign in your life, and don’t allow past experiences or frightening thoughts and feelings to speak louder then what God has spoken to you.
In part three, we’ll take this concept even deeper, to explore the damaging negative spiritual attacks that can hinder healing, such as guilt, and condemnation.
I look forward to thriving with you again next week.
Be blessed.
No responses yet