What do you think?
Rate this book
Faith Is Not a Feeling: Choosing to Take God at His Word
In 1976 the Big Thompson River flood in Colorado took 150 lives, including those of seven women on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ International. Deeply grieved by the loss, survivor Ney Bailey embraced a journey of faith that led her to a life-changing No matter how things look and no matter how we feel, God is in control.
In Faith is Not a Feelin g, Ney reveals how life’s tragedies and challenges lead each of us to an important decision about how we will relate to God. Building on a foundation of experiences all believers can relate to, this well-loved speaker and teacher shows how you can take advantage of the endless opportunities life provided to deepen your trust in the Lord.
Faith is Not a Feeling has taught hundreds of thousands of people how to choose to believe God’s promises over their own personal feelings. Now you, too, can discover the secrets that will allow you to face painful experiences with a measure of objectivity, use your feelings to take you to God, and experience true peace in the midst of failure and trials. Best of all, you will learn how to obediently and confidently take God at His word as you never have before.
In Faith is Not a Feelin g, Ney reveals how life’s tragedies and challenges lead each of us to an important decision about how we will relate to God. Building on a foundation of experiences all believers can relate to, this well-loved speaker and teacher shows how you can take advantage of the endless opportunities life provided to deepen your trust in the Lord.
Faith is Not a Feeling has taught hundreds of thousands of people how to choose to believe God’s promises over their own personal feelings. Now you, too, can discover the secrets that will allow you to face painful experiences with a measure of objectivity, use your feelings to take you to God, and experience true peace in the midst of failure and trials. Best of all, you will learn how to obediently and confidently take God at His word as you never have before.
192 pages, Paperback
First published August 20, 2002
49 people are currently reading
273 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 14, 2024
“But as strong and fluctuating as my feelings are, God’s word is:
Truer than anything I feel
Truer than anything I experience
Truer than any circumstance I will ever face
Truer than anything in the world.”
Amen, sister.
Truer than anything I feel
Truer than anything I experience
Truer than any circumstance I will ever face
Truer than anything in the world.”
Amen, sister.
July 18, 2024
I was gifted this book last summer and whenever I read it I absolutely could not stop highlighting and annotating. This book really opened my eyes definitely helped me gain wisdom. I took a lot of notes from this book and it also helped me form devotions to share with others!
February 28, 2020
An excellent and thought provoking read, written in a conversational manner that allows the reader to apply the information to their own life. With a study guide in the back of the book, this inspirational resource would work well for an independent study or a book club/group. Bailey reminds us that while our feelings may change with our circumstances, our faith can keep us going in the most difficult of times.
January 26, 2023
This is the most powerful Christian book I have read 🔥🔥🔥💕💕💕
October 24, 2021
I have been re reading this book recently. It has been several years since I have read it, and the rich truth of it has been so good. These past few months have felt a little rough. I have felt so helpless and so disconnected from God. I know a lot of people around me are struggling with harder burdens and griefs, and mine feel so small in comparison. Through out this, God has really been drawing me back to the idea of simplicity. And that has been a lot of what this book has been doing for me. Faith is simply, "Choosing to take God at His Word." Nothing more, nothing less. It is so not driven by my own performance. And that is so freeing.
If you wish to reconnect with what faith looks like or are feeling burdened by life, this is definitely an excellent read. Because with Jesus, everything is so much more simple, lifegiving, hopeful. I have hope for the future again because I am able to choose to believe in the truth of what God has told me.
If you wish to reconnect with what faith looks like or are feeling burdened by life, this is definitely an excellent read. Because with Jesus, everything is so much more simple, lifegiving, hopeful. I have hope for the future again because I am able to choose to believe in the truth of what God has told me.
November 2, 2022
Though I agree with Bailey’s overall point that we are to place our trust in God above our own emotions and experiences I found her arguments to be a bit…lacking. Her personnel experiences were interesting and certainly valid but I felt like the book was built on the back of those experiences rather than on Scripture which would have made her points more compelling. Also this may be a stylistic preference, but the exclamation points every other sentence seemed to be overkill to me and I felt like they drew attention away from the overall point of the paragraph or section.
July 27, 2024
This book was excellent. There were so many helpful and thought provoking and convicting words in it. I could only read one chapter at a time and let that sink in before reading the next.
Some of the stories are a little dated but the truths and concepts in it remain the same now as when it was written.
This book has been a huge blessing in my life this summer.
Some of the stories are a little dated but the truths and concepts in it remain the same now as when it was written.
This book has been a huge blessing in my life this summer.
September 4, 2023
This book has been incredibly encouraging during a season when I’ve been trying to put into words the struggle of balancing what my feelings say with what the Word says. Extremely uplifting and does a wonderful job pointing back to Jesus. Loved it!!
October 22, 2024
(3.5/5)
I read this pretty slowly, so that has affected how much I remember of the early chapters. Overall a good, easy book to read that speaks very well to what it looks like to have faith in God in the midst of difficult and trying circumstances.
I read this pretty slowly, so that has affected how much I remember of the early chapters. Overall a good, easy book to read that speaks very well to what it looks like to have faith in God in the midst of difficult and trying circumstances.
January 31, 2026
I read this book in college, highly recommended by a friend in Campus Crusade for Christ. Wow! This book is to the point meaningly practical on how to literally take God at His Word...which grows our faith.
April 17, 2018
Such a quick read but so helpful and practical. In what ways do I let my mind and feelings run wild instead of looking to God in His Word? Definitely an every year read!
July 17, 2020
A life changing book for me.
May 7, 2022
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars
January 15, 2024
Just not what I thought. More autobiographical than instructive
October 25, 2015
Because of the things I experienced in my childhood, trust is not something that comes naturally to me. A fact that often surprises people, especially when they remark on how many friends I have. Yes, I have always been social. Yes, I have always gotten along with a variety of people, and because of that, I have always had a large circle of friends. But I think many people would be surprised to find out how little they really know me. I can count on my fingers, and have plenty left over, the number of friends who truly know me.
Once trusted, my loyalty is never ending. Once betrayed, forgiveness may be given, but trust is unlikely to be bestowed again. That's just the way I am built. As a child, I often prayed to God to change my difficult circumstances, and when I did not receive the result that I thought I should, my trust in God waned, and it eventually drove me from the Church. I never lost what I perceived as "faith." I never stopped believing in God; I never doubted His existence. I simply doubted His plan and love for me. As a result, I spent many years trying to do everything on my own and searching for answers to questions that had already been answered by God.
It was only years later that I was able to see "the forest through the trees." I had gained enough perspective to see that God had answered my prayers as a child. His answers just came in a different form than I expected, and in truth, far surpassed what I had requested. The biggest challenge for me and my faith boils down to one word: trust. I didn't trust God's Word, His promises. I had a misconception of what "faith" meant. It is more than just believing. It is taking God at His Word. It is trusting that He will do what He says He will.
That's what I got out of this book. "God's Word is: truer than anything I feel, truer than anything I experience, truer than any circumstance I will ever face, truer than anything in the world." God is the same today as He was yesterday and will be tomorrow. My feelings, experiences, circumstances, and the world change day to day, hour to hour, minute by minute. God is forever and He never lies. I can have faith, can take Him at His Word, because he always keeps His promises. Such a refreshing idea to someone who has experiences tremendous disappointment. And when I look back at my life, I can see example after example of God's faithfulness.
This simple truth is expounded throughout the book and the twelve week Bible study that is included. I found the Bible study to be very helpful in reflecting on what Ney talked about in the various chapters and appreciated the easily applicable tools included. In fact, I think I got more out of the book by doing the Bible study than I would have had I just read the chapters. The questions where often thought provoking and some required a great deal of thought and reflection to answer. Overall, I would say this book is worth the time.
Once trusted, my loyalty is never ending. Once betrayed, forgiveness may be given, but trust is unlikely to be bestowed again. That's just the way I am built. As a child, I often prayed to God to change my difficult circumstances, and when I did not receive the result that I thought I should, my trust in God waned, and it eventually drove me from the Church. I never lost what I perceived as "faith." I never stopped believing in God; I never doubted His existence. I simply doubted His plan and love for me. As a result, I spent many years trying to do everything on my own and searching for answers to questions that had already been answered by God.
It was only years later that I was able to see "the forest through the trees." I had gained enough perspective to see that God had answered my prayers as a child. His answers just came in a different form than I expected, and in truth, far surpassed what I had requested. The biggest challenge for me and my faith boils down to one word: trust. I didn't trust God's Word, His promises. I had a misconception of what "faith" meant. It is more than just believing. It is taking God at His Word. It is trusting that He will do what He says He will.
That's what I got out of this book. "God's Word is: truer than anything I feel, truer than anything I experience, truer than any circumstance I will ever face, truer than anything in the world." God is the same today as He was yesterday and will be tomorrow. My feelings, experiences, circumstances, and the world change day to day, hour to hour, minute by minute. God is forever and He never lies. I can have faith, can take Him at His Word, because he always keeps His promises. Such a refreshing idea to someone who has experiences tremendous disappointment. And when I look back at my life, I can see example after example of God's faithfulness.
This simple truth is expounded throughout the book and the twelve week Bible study that is included. I found the Bible study to be very helpful in reflecting on what Ney talked about in the various chapters and appreciated the easily applicable tools included. In fact, I think I got more out of the book by doing the Bible study than I would have had I just read the chapters. The questions where often thought provoking and some required a great deal of thought and reflection to answer. Overall, I would say this book is worth the time.
February 13, 2014
This was a wonderful book written by a woman who faced many challenges in her Christian life. One of the main things that I got from this book is that we "choose with our will" to obey the Lord. Our feelings do not need to override what we know is true. We have a choice and that choice trumps our feelings. Living in faith and trusting God is a choice we make. I would recommend this book for everyone!
October 28, 2016
As a wildfire survivor, I have referred time and again to this classic work for its inspiring theme of how to have faith when your circumstances defy everything being normal ever again. I highly recommend this for your home library as a resource whenever you need renewal. It is a great tool to help us all grapple with life's big questions about good and evil and tragedy, yet not be ruled by that alone. I am so grateful for this work that has guided me for many years.
April 20, 2007
This is an awesome book full of wonderful insight and truth. It's about learning that your emotions, while an important gift from God, must not determine what you believe about God and His unchangeable attributes. These truths have really changed my life.
August 29, 2011
This is one I go back to over and over in hard times. What an amazing testimony Ney has in so many areas of her life. It has motivated me to choose the Truth of God's Word over my feelings countless times - and will keep reminding me as I reread it!
June 3, 2009
Some personal stories about one woman's conflicts with how she thought she should feel versus her actual experiences. This encouraged me greatly when I read it during my summer project in Indianapolis in '02.
August 9, 2015
Ney Bailey provided a new perspective
I have been going through a flood of life, as Ney described, and have been wrought with anxiety. This book not only helped me see what her Christian walk looked like, but gave me concrete ways that I can be spared of this anxiety.
I have been going through a flood of life, as Ney described, and have been wrought with anxiety. This book not only helped me see what her Christian walk looked like, but gave me concrete ways that I can be spared of this anxiety.
January 5, 2024
another one that surprised me in a good way. i love a lil story + lesson combo when executed well
August 8, 2008
This is a great book to read after Loving God with all Your Mind by Elizabeth George.
July 5, 2009
i finished this in one sitting, very uplifting.
March 30, 2017
Helped me get a really good foundation for my faith! Very applicable and helpful.
October 8, 2017
This book talks through some hard life situations and how to rely on the Lord in the midst of those hard times. We are not guaranteed an easy, happy life. Ney Bailey does a good job of talking through the feeling aspect of faith and how we can still have solid faith even when we feel like it's hard to go to the Lord.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews