Faith Is Not a Feeling: A Reflection on Obedience, Fear, and Moving Anyway

Dr Mia Hartsfield
Aug 21
2 min read

“Oh ye of little faith.”

That scripture hit different today.

I took several leaps...big, risky, obedient leaps. I said yes to what felt like divine direction.

I made agreements that once terrified me. And yet...as soon as I stepped out, the enemy came hard.

It didn’t make sense...I had clarity...God said yes...I was sure.

So why did the fear return like an uninvited guest with no plans of leaving?

I started to question the yes. Not because God changed...but because I did.

I began wondering if I had chosen one of these paths for the wrong reason.

Was I looking for comfort?

A shortcut?

An answer I could control?

But then the Holy Spirit reminded me: alignment is not always comfortable. And peace isn’t always the absence of pressure...it’s the presence of power even when pressure is present.

So I paused and asked myself:

Am I trusting God to provide...or am I telling Him how to provide?
Am I submitting to His yes...or trying to shape it into my version of obedience?
Am I hoping…or am I fearing?

The Word says “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

But hope often feels like tension.

And faith? Faith isn’t about feelings...

It’s a knowing...

A surrender...

A decision to walk even when your legs shake...

A breath you take when your chest is tight and your throat closes, and all you can do is inhale the power of God and exhale the lie of fear.

So I did that.

I breathed in the power...I released the fear.