Trains have a set order to them which I like to apply to the Christian life experience (I use this often when witnessing). The lead is always taken by the engine. The locomotive is what makes the train work. Without it, nothing could be accomplished, as far as train work goes. The next element is made up of the cars. These form the body of the train and make it able to perform its desired function, namely the carrying of persons or goods from one place to another. The very last segment is the caboose. Now, I don't know what knowledge you have of trains, but if you pay any attention to them, you've probably noticed they have just about discontinued the use of cabooses. Advances in communications and electronics have made them obsolete, in most cases, as a person is no longer needed at the end of the train to perform certain functions. If you're wondering where I'm wandering, here it is—

The Christian life is comparable to a train. Fact is the engine. That engine can be named, "God is, God loves me, Jesus saves, God heals, etc." The fact, like the engine, is essential, or the rest of the train is useless. Next comes faith, which is the body, or the cars of the train. Connected to the engine, they combine with it and the train goes into motion towards the destination. Without the cars, the engine does not and cannot perform its intended purpose. We have "Fact" as the engine and "Faith" as the cars. The last part, the caboose, and the one most of us attach the greatest weight to, is "Feeling." "I don't feel saved—I don't feel like everything's under God's control— etc.". This part is where so much of our Christian life is spent, but alas, like the caboose, it's the least important and least necessary part. We, like the train, can and should move on, even if the "feeling" is not prominent or immediately noticeable. If it is truly necessary for your Christian experience, God will provide it, but it may come at the end of a very long train.

God's Word, the fact, tells us, for example, that Jesus saves those who honestly call upon Him for salvation. When a person connects their faith to that fact, God says they are saved. Now, depending on their condition at the time, they may or may not "feel" saved right then. A person who has been running after God a long time may feel great joy and relief at finding Him. A person who has been running from God may just feel tired. A person who has been going merrily along the way and suddenly meets Him may just be numb, not really knowing how they feel. The point is, when their faith in God united with the fact of God's Word, they were saved. The feelings may or may not be there at that moment, they may come later, but they don't change the results whatsoever. They are not really that important, they're just something God attaches at the end of the train.

You can apply this to myriads of things in your walk. The necessary thing is for God's Word and your faith in that Word to unite. Your feelings may or may not be hooked up, but that's okay, they don't really contribute. Try to be aware when your "caboose" is in the lead or trying to occupy the front of your "train." Give them (your feelings) the prominence and importance they really and rightfully deserve. Put them where they belong, way back at the end of the train.

FACT--FAAAAIIIIIIIITTTTTTHHHHHH--FEELING

                                               Ben