Beyond the Feeling: Faith as Verity

“Faith is a knowledge, not a feeling.” When I first heard these words, my mind wandered—what does that even mean? Shouldn’t I feel like things are going to work out before they do? Isn’t faith the act of believing and emotionally affirming that I am at peace in my heart, and therefore confident that what I desire will manifest? Unfortunately, no. That is not how faith works. Scripture says, “For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe with confident trust that you have received them and they will be given to you”.

Faith had always appeared distant to me, something I needed to feel. In hindsight, that ideology was far-fetched. When “trust” entered the picture, everything shifted. To trust is to possess a level of certainty about an outcome or a person’s behavior. I can confidently say I trust someone because, time and time again, they have proven faithful to their word by consistently showing up and acting in alignment with what they promised. That is the foundation of faith: trusting the character behind the words, not the circumstances surrounding them.

As children, we possessed immense faith. Fathers would boldly promise planes or cars, and with our naïve hearts we clung to every word as though those promises were our very lifeline only to be met with disappointment, or if fortunate, a miniature version of the Airbus A380 we envisioned. One could argue that repeated exposure to such letdowns has traumatized our capacity to believe, leaving behind only a sliver just enough to form a silver lining of hope amid clouds of desperation and disappointment. Though some may say hastily that we have not lost our ability to trust deeply, I disagree. We have rather lost our memory of who to trust.

Faith is a spiritual element and must therefore be anchored to a spiritual being. Its fullest expression of confident trust and unwavering certainty can only blossom in the right environment, one cultivated by relationship with a being; God. If misplaced trust in man often leads to disappointment, then rightly placed trust in God must lead to victory and joy.

We live in a world saturated with deception, and over time we have subtly adopted the belief—rarely spoken, but deeply internalized that God cannot be trusted. If that were not so, we would not hesitate so much before turning to Him. Some may argue going to God and nothing still happening. But I beg to differ. Knowledge is not passive, it carries the responsibility of application. To know is to possess the capacity to move theory into practice. If one truly went to God and “nothing” happened, questions must be asked: What knowledge was missing? What step was overlooked? And what remains to be learned?

In summary, trust is forged at the intersection of character, action, and words. That trust forms the basis of faith. Trust is certainty in the character of the one in whom it is placed. But man is desperately wicked, and the motives of the human heart are unknowable. Therefore, faith can only reach full bloom when anchored in the One whose character, actions and words resonate at the same frequency. The One whose Word is not merely synonymous with Him, but is Him. 

Faith is not a feeling. It is not vibes nor the temporary calm that settles in your chest when life overwhelms you. Faith is verity

Cheers!