Stop Letting Feelings Lead Your Faith - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - December 30, 2025
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2-3, ESV).
After lovingly warning a friend of the dangers of a particular false teacher she was going to see at a conference, she got offended with me and said something along the lines of "I have the Holy Spirit! Don't you think I will be able to discern or sense His conviction if something's not right??"
In this instance, my friend was emphasizing what she believed the Holy Spirit was telling her by how it made her feel at the time.
Friends, but that is not how we as Christians are to live. We are to walk in the Spirit, and the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth (John 16), which is found in the Word of God, not by an 'unction' or 'funny feeling.' Relying on our feelings means we are putting our confidence in our flesh, and our flesh will only lead us away from righteousness and God's truth. Since the human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), it can lead us astray if we rely on or try to follow its sometimes-emotional leadings. This is how people in the world live their lives. #allthefeels
The Apostle Paul encourages believers to live differently:
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2-3, ESV)
We must search the scriptures to learn how to walk in God's ways. The Spirit of God is the one who works in us to transform us and strengthen us to walk in righteousness.
Studying the Bible is how our mind is renewed and how we are sanctified as believers. We cannot walk in righteousness based on how we feel, whether something is right or wrong, and call it conviction. I am sure there are ways I am accidentally or unknowingly violating God's perfect law, even though the Holy Spirit indwells me- I still wrestle with a sin nature even as a believer. I must abide in Christ and die to self daily. We abide in Christ through faith by abiding in His Word by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. Faith in Christ comes by hearing the Word of God, after all (Romans 10:17). The Holy Spirit is constantly transforming us from our new birth until we meet Jesus face-to-face.
Since we cannot entirely depend on our feelings to determine whether something is sinful or not, we also cannot depend on our feelings to determine whether something is true or false. Regarding discernment, are you testing everything against scripture? That is where we gain knowledge to be able to test all things and judge righteously. We must ensure that everything we hear preached in the name of Christ aligns with His Holy Word.
Friends, if I were to depend solely on feelings, I would be wrong quite often. As believers, we do not "sense it in our spirit"- that's called human intuition. We don't rely on intuition; we walk in the Spirit, dear ones. And the Spirit will use the Bible to light our path and show us how to walk in righteousness.
Unless you are testing what the Holy Spirit is guiding you into by God's Holy Word, you can't be confident that Satan isn't misleading you. "Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, so it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). Let us remember to stand firm upon God's word and trust He has given us all we need in it for life and godliness as we lean upon the help of the Holy Spirit, who guides us into all truth that conforms us day by day into the image of Christ, which is the ultimate transformation- a life built on truth, not feelings!
Photo credit: ©Unsplash/Aaron Burden
Related Resource: Instead of Doing More This Summer, Maybe You Need to Do Less
If you've been feeling tired, overwhelmed, depleted, or just quietly wondering where God is in the middle of a very full life — this episode is for you. And honestly? It might be for me too, because I'm recording this in one of those seasons myself.
Today we're doing something a little different. Instead of going deep in a passage, we're talking about what to do when deep feels like too much — when you need less, not more. Specifically, I'm walking you through one of my favorite practices for weary seasons: handwriting scripture.
Not typing it. Not scrolling past it. Actually writing it out, slowly, in your own hand — because something happens in your brain when you do that. The words land differently. They go deeper. And over time, they become part of that personal library of God's voice that the Holy Spirit can pull from when you need it most. That's what Psalm 119:11 means when it says I have hidden your word in my heart — it's scripture moving into your long-term memory, where it lives and stays even when you haven't opened your Bible in weeks.
I'm sharing the five verses I wrote out for myself today — and why each one hit me fresh even though I've known some of them for years. This episode is part of our How to Study the Bible Podcast, a show that brings life back to reading the Bible and helps you understand even the hardest parts of Scripture. If this episode helps you know and love God more, be sure to follow the How to Study the Bible Podcast on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
