Trick or Truth...

We walk by faith and not by sight.  2 Cor. 5:7

my rendering...

We walk by faith and not by feeling.

I finding this to be very hard lately.  There are times when I'm fired up and wired up to take life by storm or by the horns, whichever, and to just decidedly enact my values, virtues and vision.  I feel alive, hopeful, confident, successful and wanted.  These are the times when faith isn't needed because I have everything at my disposal, tools hanging off my proverbial tool-belt waiting to be employed.

And then there are days when feelings are nowhere to be found.  You can't locate them, you can't conjure them.  About all you feel like you can do is fake them.  You don't know where they went and hid, but they aren't accompanying you anymore.  You have to move forward without them.  These are the days when you don't feel like praying, don't feel like caring, don't feel like moving, don't feel like obeying, don't feel like following through, don't feel like going to church, don't feel like meeting with friends, don't feel like nothin'.  Which makes sense, cause feelings have deserted you, as they often do.

Then comes along this pesky piece of theology called faith.  It tells us that we don't have to rely solely on temperamental passions anymore to drive us toward obedience.  We don't have to wait for a gust of whimsical wind to fill our sails anymore because we have the breeze of belief.  The fresh air of faith to carry us along.  Doesn't that sound so pretty?  It sounds so cutesy and perky.  It doesn't sound inviting or exciting.  But it's the truth.  And the truth has never cared much for gimmickry and seductive tricks--sleight of hand.  The truth doesn't need tricks and it doesn't pander to tricksters.

I don't have a way to conclude this bit of thought, so I won't.