Greater Than Feelings

The gulf was wider than I ever thought could be breached. 2,500 miles seemed an impossible distance to feel love from. Without my soldier’s arms physically around me, I felt abandoned, frightened, and alone.

Felt. That was the key word, he pointed out, gently reminding me that my feelings don’t negate truth. And the truth was he loved me, whether in the moment I felt like it or not.

As Christians, sometimes we feel like there is a similar inseparable gulf between us and God. We don’t feel His presence, so we slip into doubting – doubting His power, His love, even at times, His very existence. This is why we are reminded in Scripture how we must not lean on our own understanding or trust our deceitful and changeable hearts (Proverbs 3:5; Jeremiah 17:9). “Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). We can trust in His sameness even when our feelings change.

“I’m coming back,” my soldier told me, “and then I’m going to marry you and take you home and nothing will ever separate us.” How sweet this parallel is to Christ’s own promise to us! His love spans the gulf between heaven and earth, but beyond that, there’s the assurance that this distance is only temporary. Until that joyful day, we find comfort in His enduring promises, His commitment to us that will never change, and His graciously given sacraments – holy love letters that help close the distance between earth and heaven. We are not, and have never been, unloved or alone.

Lord Jesus, quickly come! We eagerly await the day when our deep longing for Your tangible presence is fulfilled and our faith turns to sight. Until that day, give us strength to trust in Your promises and not our feelings. Amen.

 

 

 

 

Works Cited:

Holy Bible. New King James Version. (2013). Holman Bible Publishers.