Scotts Hill Students
Faith Over Feelings
Summer Devo
Locations & Times
WB Access 4
Wrightsville Beach, NC, USA
Tuesday 3:30 PM
Faith over Feelings
DAY 1:
What exactly is faith?
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” {Hebrews 11:1}
Think about Hebrews 11:1 like this: faith = trusting & treasuring. Having faith means trusting that God is who He says He is and will do what He has promised He will do. And because we trust Him who is eternally glorious, we treasure Him above everything else.
Easier said than done though, right? Life gets tough. We experience disappointment, anxiety, fear, stress, and pain. Sometimes we allow ourselves to become so tied up in our thoughts and emotions that we forget to trust and we forget to treasure.
When this happens, we have to point ourselves back to truth. Our FAITH is greater than our FEELINGS.
Let’s look at Scripture. Read Luke 10:38-42.
As Jesus entered Mary and Martha’s home and began to teach, Mary immediately plopped down at his feet. Martha, on the other hand, set straight to work. She probably wanted to make sure her house was spotless, prepare her best food, and get out her finest dishes. But in the midst of trying to give Jesus her best, she got trampled under the weight of feeling like she needed to be perfect. She became frustrated that her sister was sitting and not helping. She became jealous that Mary was getting all of Jesus’ attention. She grew anxious that all of the work wouldn’t get done in time.
But Martha didn’t realize what was really happening inside herself. Her attention to detail turned into anxiety. Her consideration of Jesus developed into criticism of Mary. Her tender heart morphed into a troubled mind. And Serving-Martha became Sulking-Martha.
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me.”
But Jesus said, “Martha, Martha…Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
You see, while Martha was wrapped up in her emotions of perfectionism and pessimism, Mary was focusing on the teachings of Christ. While Martha chose to listen to her negative thoughts, Mary chose to listen to the words of the King. Martha chose feelings. Mary chose Jesus. And Jesus tells us that what Mary chose is better.
What are you choosing?
Are you stressed out over what you will do when you graduate high school, or are you resting in the knowledge that Jesus has a plan for your life? {Jeremiah 29:11}
Are you hurting over wounds or pains that don’t seem curable, or are you trusting that Jesus is near to the broken-hearted? {Psalm 34:18}
Are you fearful that the enemy’s tactics will destroy you, or are you relying on the truth that Christ came to lay down his life and give us abundant joy? {John 10:10-11}
Ask yourself:
1. How am I being like Martha right now in my life?
2. What is one thing I can start doing today in order to become more like Mary?
DAY 1:
What exactly is faith?
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” {Hebrews 11:1}
Think about Hebrews 11:1 like this: faith = trusting & treasuring. Having faith means trusting that God is who He says He is and will do what He has promised He will do. And because we trust Him who is eternally glorious, we treasure Him above everything else.
Easier said than done though, right? Life gets tough. We experience disappointment, anxiety, fear, stress, and pain. Sometimes we allow ourselves to become so tied up in our thoughts and emotions that we forget to trust and we forget to treasure.
When this happens, we have to point ourselves back to truth. Our FAITH is greater than our FEELINGS.
Let’s look at Scripture. Read Luke 10:38-42.
As Jesus entered Mary and Martha’s home and began to teach, Mary immediately plopped down at his feet. Martha, on the other hand, set straight to work. She probably wanted to make sure her house was spotless, prepare her best food, and get out her finest dishes. But in the midst of trying to give Jesus her best, she got trampled under the weight of feeling like she needed to be perfect. She became frustrated that her sister was sitting and not helping. She became jealous that Mary was getting all of Jesus’ attention. She grew anxious that all of the work wouldn’t get done in time.
But Martha didn’t realize what was really happening inside herself. Her attention to detail turned into anxiety. Her consideration of Jesus developed into criticism of Mary. Her tender heart morphed into a troubled mind. And Serving-Martha became Sulking-Martha.
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me.”
But Jesus said, “Martha, Martha…Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
You see, while Martha was wrapped up in her emotions of perfectionism and pessimism, Mary was focusing on the teachings of Christ. While Martha chose to listen to her negative thoughts, Mary chose to listen to the words of the King. Martha chose feelings. Mary chose Jesus. And Jesus tells us that what Mary chose is better.
What are you choosing?
Are you stressed out over what you will do when you graduate high school, or are you resting in the knowledge that Jesus has a plan for your life? {Jeremiah 29:11}
Are you hurting over wounds or pains that don’t seem curable, or are you trusting that Jesus is near to the broken-hearted? {Psalm 34:18}
Are you fearful that the enemy’s tactics will destroy you, or are you relying on the truth that Christ came to lay down his life and give us abundant joy? {John 10:10-11}
Ask yourself:
1. How am I being like Martha right now in my life?
2. What is one thing I can start doing today in order to become more like Mary?
DAY 2:
Yesterday we defined faith.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” {Hebrews 11:1}
We said that faith = trusting & treasuring.Trusting that God is who He says He is and treasuring Him above everything else. Sometimes having faith looks like being confident that God is for us even when our feelings tell us differently.
Abraham and Sarah may very well be the oldest parents ever. They were both about 100 years old before they gave birth to their first child. “The Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as He had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.” {Genesis 21:1-3}
Can you imagine waiting on a child, or on any blessing for that matter, your entire life and never receiving it until you had become old and wrinkly? Surely that was God testing their faith, right? Surely Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac lived a peaceful, happy, stress-free life after that, right?
Let’s look at Scripture. Read Genesis 22:1-19.
Yep, you read that correctly. God made Abraham and Sarah wait 100 years before giving them their only son. Isaac was dear to Abraham’s heart, and God knew it. But then He asked Abraham to take Isaac to the top of a mountain and kill him. Can you imagine what Abraham must have been feeling?
Anger.
Betrayal.
Frustration.
Disappointment.
Sadness.
Confusion.
What Abraham didn’t know was that he was illustrating for God’s people for all time what faith looks like. What Abraham didn’t know was that this act would foreshadow the sacrifice of someone else’s only son — God’s.
But Abraham did know that God knew what He was doing. Abraham did know that he had chosen to focus on what was true - God’s sovereignty - instead of what was not - his feelings of bitterness toward the Lord.
The Bible tells us, “So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac” {v. 3}. Nowhere do we see Abraham hesitate. Nowhere do we see Abraham try to hide in fear. Nowhere in this entire story do we see Abraham act on how he was feeling. But everywhere throughout this story we do see Abraham act out of faith.
God didn’t want to take away what belonged to Abraham. He just wanted to see if Abraham would be willing to let him have it. Abraham’s great obedience resulted in an even greater blessing: “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore” {v. 17}
Are your actions based on your feelings? Or are they based on your faith?
Do you know of something in your life that you feel like you waited forever to have (a job, a license, a relationship) and something about it didn’t quite go according to your plan? How did you respond to that situation? What could you have done differently?
Is there an area of your life now where you believe God is trying to test your faith? Are you responding based on your feelings? Or are you responding with faithful obedience?
What is one thing you can start doing today in order to become more like Abraham?
Yesterday we defined faith.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” {Hebrews 11:1}
We said that faith = trusting & treasuring.Trusting that God is who He says He is and treasuring Him above everything else. Sometimes having faith looks like being confident that God is for us even when our feelings tell us differently.
Abraham and Sarah may very well be the oldest parents ever. They were both about 100 years old before they gave birth to their first child. “The Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as He had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.” {Genesis 21:1-3}
Can you imagine waiting on a child, or on any blessing for that matter, your entire life and never receiving it until you had become old and wrinkly? Surely that was God testing their faith, right? Surely Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac lived a peaceful, happy, stress-free life after that, right?
Let’s look at Scripture. Read Genesis 22:1-19.
Yep, you read that correctly. God made Abraham and Sarah wait 100 years before giving them their only son. Isaac was dear to Abraham’s heart, and God knew it. But then He asked Abraham to take Isaac to the top of a mountain and kill him. Can you imagine what Abraham must have been feeling?
Anger.
Betrayal.
Frustration.
Disappointment.
Sadness.
Confusion.
What Abraham didn’t know was that he was illustrating for God’s people for all time what faith looks like. What Abraham didn’t know was that this act would foreshadow the sacrifice of someone else’s only son — God’s.
But Abraham did know that God knew what He was doing. Abraham did know that he had chosen to focus on what was true - God’s sovereignty - instead of what was not - his feelings of bitterness toward the Lord.
The Bible tells us, “So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac” {v. 3}. Nowhere do we see Abraham hesitate. Nowhere do we see Abraham try to hide in fear. Nowhere in this entire story do we see Abraham act on how he was feeling. But everywhere throughout this story we do see Abraham act out of faith.
God didn’t want to take away what belonged to Abraham. He just wanted to see if Abraham would be willing to let him have it. Abraham’s great obedience resulted in an even greater blessing: “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore” {v. 17}
Are your actions based on your feelings? Or are they based on your faith?
Do you know of something in your life that you feel like you waited forever to have (a job, a license, a relationship) and something about it didn’t quite go according to your plan? How did you respond to that situation? What could you have done differently?
Is there an area of your life now where you believe God is trying to test your faith? Are you responding based on your feelings? Or are you responding with faithful obedience?
What is one thing you can start doing today in order to become more like Abraham?
DAY 3:
Remember our verse on faith?
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” {Hebrews 11:1}
We said that faith = trusting & treasuring.Trusting that God is who He says He is and treasuring Him above everything else.Sometimes having faith looks like being bold and confident even when we feel hopeless and afraid.
Let’s look at Scripture. Read Luke 8:40-48.
“And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone” {v. 43}
Think about this woman for a minute. Bleeding for 12 years. Deemed unclean in her culture. Not allowed to be touched by anyone. Unmarried. Without kids. Poor from spending all her money on doctors. Her hope for healing had been destroyed time and again. Her desires for marriage and children had been crushed. Her feelings of loneliness and sadness had overtaken her like a dark cloud.
Didn’t she have the right to be upset? Hurt? Angry? Of course she did.
But then Jesus showed up. And instead of resting in her resentment she relished in the idea of rescue. She didn’t let her feelings hold her back from the truth that Jesus is the ultimate physician. So she got dressed, went into town, and waited in the crowds to catch a glimpse of him.
You see, this woman wasn’t allowed to be among the people. Because she was deemed unclean due to her condition, she was not allowed to touch or be near anyone else because she might pass her disease along to them. If she had been discovered she could have been thrown out of the city walls. Exiled. Killed. But she didn’t allow fear of what might happen keep her from what she knew could: healing.
“Oh, if I can only touch the bottom of his robe, I know I will be cured,” she must have thought.
So she did.
She had faith that if she could just get near Jesus, near enough to touch the very bottom of his garment, He would restore her body.
And He did.
“‘Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.’ And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed” {v. 46-47}.
How terrifying this must have been for her! To be called out by Jesus and recognized by the crowd as “The Bleeding Woman.” How embarrassing this must have been! To have to explain in front of everyone why she needed healing. But the fear, the embarrassment, the trembling, the frustration did not get in between her and her Savior.
Jesus honored her bold faith. “And he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace’” {v. 48}. She was nameless, hopeless, helpless and nearly lost everything. But she put her feet under faith and reached out her hand to be made whole.
Are you walking in faith toward Jesus? Or are you letting your feelings keep you planted?
Have you ever had a time in your life when fear has held you back from walking forward? Have you ever let the opinions of others dictate your identify instead of Jesus? What was the result of that?
What is an area of your life where you are allowing your feelings to hold you captive? How can you break out of this and make a step toward bold, confident faith?
What is one thing you can do today to become more like the woman in this Scripture?
Remember our verse on faith?
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” {Hebrews 11:1}
We said that faith = trusting & treasuring.Trusting that God is who He says He is and treasuring Him above everything else.Sometimes having faith looks like being bold and confident even when we feel hopeless and afraid.
Let’s look at Scripture. Read Luke 8:40-48.
“And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone” {v. 43}
Think about this woman for a minute. Bleeding for 12 years. Deemed unclean in her culture. Not allowed to be touched by anyone. Unmarried. Without kids. Poor from spending all her money on doctors. Her hope for healing had been destroyed time and again. Her desires for marriage and children had been crushed. Her feelings of loneliness and sadness had overtaken her like a dark cloud.
Didn’t she have the right to be upset? Hurt? Angry? Of course she did.
But then Jesus showed up. And instead of resting in her resentment she relished in the idea of rescue. She didn’t let her feelings hold her back from the truth that Jesus is the ultimate physician. So she got dressed, went into town, and waited in the crowds to catch a glimpse of him.
You see, this woman wasn’t allowed to be among the people. Because she was deemed unclean due to her condition, she was not allowed to touch or be near anyone else because she might pass her disease along to them. If she had been discovered she could have been thrown out of the city walls. Exiled. Killed. But she didn’t allow fear of what might happen keep her from what she knew could: healing.
“Oh, if I can only touch the bottom of his robe, I know I will be cured,” she must have thought.
So she did.
She had faith that if she could just get near Jesus, near enough to touch the very bottom of his garment, He would restore her body.
And He did.
“‘Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.’ And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed” {v. 46-47}.
How terrifying this must have been for her! To be called out by Jesus and recognized by the crowd as “The Bleeding Woman.” How embarrassing this must have been! To have to explain in front of everyone why she needed healing. But the fear, the embarrassment, the trembling, the frustration did not get in between her and her Savior.
Jesus honored her bold faith. “And he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace’” {v. 48}. She was nameless, hopeless, helpless and nearly lost everything. But she put her feet under faith and reached out her hand to be made whole.
Are you walking in faith toward Jesus? Or are you letting your feelings keep you planted?
Have you ever had a time in your life when fear has held you back from walking forward? Have you ever let the opinions of others dictate your identify instead of Jesus? What was the result of that?
What is an area of your life where you are allowing your feelings to hold you captive? How can you break out of this and make a step toward bold, confident faith?
What is one thing you can do today to become more like the woman in this Scripture?