Faith on Facts vs. Experience

On Wednesday morning, we heard a stirring message by Eric Ludy called The Anatomy of Faith.

He presented the relationship between Faith, Fact, and Experience. Fact is the eternal, unchangeable reality of God’s Word. Because God said it, it cannot be changed or altered in any way. Faith must look to fact and fix its gaze firmly on God’s word, disregarding all other voices. However, the enemy will try to get us to turn around and look at Experience. This includes our feelings, emotions, anxiety, lethargy, and grievance. If we turn around and heed the voice of experience, we are turning our back to the voice of God. 


In the Christian life, doubt is heeding the voice of experience, while faith is heeding the voice of God. “No diakrino!” was the ringing call we learned to cry out. (Diakrino is Greek for "doubt.") In order to have constant faith, we ought to build a default wall against the claims and appeals of experience. "Your track record is so bad, you have no hope that you could ever change," experience says. "This situation is hopeless. Why try?" "That looks so tiring, there's no way you could have energy for your normal life if you spent the night in prayer." We ought to determine ahead of time that when experience talks, we are automatically not listening. 

Consider the truth of the Word of God. Can God ever lie? When God says something, will it not come to pass? Even when Experience tells us it's impossible, we can always bank on the Word of God to come through. Case in point: John chapter 11. Jesus hears that Lazarus is sick and says, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." There's your Fact. Jesus gave His Word, which cannot be broken.

Four days later, it would have been pretty hard to train your gaze on Fact (Jesus's word) rather than Experience ("By this time he stinketh.")

"Uh, Jesus?" Mary and Martha might have said. "We have a little problem here. Lazarus is, um, already dead. I don't see how I can go by your word when, uh... it's a little too late. My experience is telling me that your word couldn't be trusted this time."

No Diakrino!

Jesus comes in with the stirring declaration that has given hope to people through the ages: "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live...Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" (John 11:25, 40)


No Diakrino! 

"Lazarus, come forth!" He says, and Experience crumbles into dust as the man wrapped in grave clothes emerges from the tomb.


Jesus's word can be trusted. He is the God of the Impossible. He is the one who can bring life from the dead. He is never at a loss when the deck is stacked against Him. Look steadily at the facts of His word and heed not the voice of Experience, though it clamor ever so loudly in your ears. 


No Diakrino!