Can You Have Faith and Still Feel Anxious? When "Faith Over Feelings" Goes Too Far
Have you ever felt anxious, hurt, or overwhelmed and told yourself, “I just need to have more faith”?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.
I believe our feelings aren’t always telling us the truth. Feeling rejected doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve been rejected. Feeling like we’re not enough doesn’t mean we’re not enough.
But what if, in trying not to be ruled by our feelings, we’ve learned to ignore them altogether?
There was a time when I reacted to whatever I felt. If I felt anxious, I acted from anxiety. If I felt rejected, I assumed I had been rejected.
Then my faith grew. I learned to trust God, pray, and remind myself that my feelings weren’t facts.
But somewhere along the way, I started believing that if I were really trusting God, I wouldn’t still feel anxious, hurt, angry, or afraid.
I thought I was growing in faith.
Sometimes, I was simply avoiding what I felt.
Can Faith Become a Way of Avoiding Your Emotions?
This is where I began recognizing something called spiritual bypassing—using spiritual beliefs or practices to avoid difficult emotions or painful experiences.
Prayer isn’t the problem. Trusting God isn’t the problem.
But sometimes we say, “I’m giving it to God,” before we’ve acknowledged what’s happening inside us.
We can believe God is in control and still need to process our hurt.
We can trust Scripture and still feel anxious.
We can pray and still need to have a difficult conversation.
Your emotions don’t mean you’re failing God.
What David Taught Me About Feelings and Faith
Read the Psalms and notice how David talks to God.
He was scared, angry, and discouraged. He cried out, asked questions, and told God when he was hurting.
He didn’t ignore his feelings. He brought them into his relationship with God—and kept turning toward Him.
That changed something for me.
Maybe the goal isn’t to choose faith over feelings.
Maybe it’s to bring our feelings into our faith.
Your Feelings Aren’t Facts, But They Are Information
Anxiety doesn’t necessarily mean something bad is happening, but it may be telling you that something feels uncertain or overwhelming.
Anger doesn’t automatically mean you’re right, but there may be hurt underneath it.
The need to control everything doesn’t mean something terrible is going to happen, but it may reveal that you’re struggling to feel safe.
Instead of immediately reacting—or suppressing—slow down.
Breathe. Get curious. Bring it to God.
Ask yourself:
What am I feeling right now?
What might be contributing to this feeling?
What do I need?
How can I respond from truth instead of fear?
You don’t have to make the feeling disappear or pretend you’re fine.
You can be honest with God.
You Can Be a Woman of Faith and Still Feel Anxious
I talk about this in my book, From Anxious to Anchored in Relationships, because being anchored doesn’t mean you never feel anxious.
It means you learn where to go when you do.
God doesn’t need the polished version of you. He wants the real you—the anxious you, the hurt you, the overwhelmed you, and the joyful you.
All of it.
Your feelings aren’t facts, but don’t use that truth to stop listening to yourself.
Feel what you’re feeling. Regulate your body. Bring it to God. Then come back to truth.
You don’t have to be ruled by your feelings.
But you don’t have to run from them either. ❤️
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