--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Faith is not an instinct. It certainly is…" description: "\"Faith is not an instinct. It certainly is not a feeling - feelings don't help much when you're in the lions' den or hanging on a wooden Cross. Faith is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc6/elisabeth-elliot-1209_choices_faith-is-not-an-instinct-it-certainly-is_1004210.jpg" --- # Faith is not an instinct. It certainly is not a feeling… ![“Faith is not an instinct. It certainly is not a feeling - feelings don't help much when you're in the lions' den or hanging on a wooden Cross. Faith is not inferred from the happy way things work. It is an act of will, a choice, based on the unbreakable Word of a God who cannot lie, and who showed…” quote by Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc6/elisabeth-elliot-1209_choices_faith-is-not-an-instinct-it-certainly-is_1004210.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc6/elisabeth-elliot-1209_choices_faith-is-not-an-instinct-it-certainly-is_1004210.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc6/elisabeth-elliot-1209_choices_faith-is-not-an-instinct-it-certainly-is_1004210.jpg) > “Faith is not an instinct. It certainly is not a feeling - feelings don't help much when you're in the lions' den or hanging on a wooden Cross. Faith is not inferred from the happy way things work. It is an act of will, a choice, based on the unbreakable Word of a God who cannot lie, and who showed us what love and obedience and sacrifice mean, in the person of Jesus Christ” [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Faith is a deliberate act of will based on trust in God's unchanging word, not a feeling or instinct. **In simple terms:** Faith is a choice based on trust. Key Takeaway Choose faith through willful trust. Themes faith will trust spirituality Mood hopeful determined Type theological inspirational When to use this quote - crisis - personal doubt - spiritual practice - leadership challenges Key Concepts theology psychology commitment Questions to Reflect On - When have you relied on will over feeling? - What does trusting an unbreakable word mean to you? A Different Perspective Faith can be challenged by overwhelming emotional distress or contradictory evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christ/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jesus/) [Lions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lions/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Obedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obedience/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) [Unbreakable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unbreakable/) ## Related quotes > [Let the separation between you and the world be final and irreversible. Say, 'Here I go for Christ and His Cross, for the faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/let-the-separation-between-you-and-the-world-be-final-and/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“Heated is what you get when you rub faith and instinct together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-dedona/heated-is-what-you-get-when-you-rub-faith-and-instinct-together/) Cornelia DeDona > [Seems like just yesterday, you were a part of me. I used to stand so tall, I used to be so strong; your arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-clarkson/seems-like-just-yesterday-you-were-a-part-of-me-i-used-to-stand-so/) [Kelly Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-clarkson/) > [The greatest evil is not done in those sordid dens of evil that Dickens loved to paint ... but is conceived and ordered (moved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-greatest-evil-is-not-done-in-those-sordid-dens-of-evil-that/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [ If you call \[the synagogue\] a brothel, a den of vice, the devil's refuge, Satan's fortress, a place to deprave the soul, an abyss… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/if-you-call-the-synagogue-a-brothel-a-den-of-vice-the-devil-s-refuge/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [I wish I was in de land ob cotton, Ole times dar am not forgotten, Look-a-way! Look-a-way! Look-a-way, Dixie Land! \* \* \* \*…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-emmett/i-wish-i-was-in-de-land-ob-cotton-ole-times-dar-am-not-forgotten-look/) Dan Emmett > [The world is the house of the strong. I shall not know until the end what I have lost or won in this place,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/the-world-is-the-house-of-the-strong-i-shall-not-know-until-the-end/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [perhaps I possess a certain Midwestern sensibility that I inherited from my mother and her parents, a sensibility that Warren Buffet seems to share:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/perhaps-i-possess-a-certain-midwestern-sensibility-that-i-inherited/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Der, die, das, dem, den, des. German's six ways of saying 'the', like six sexual positions you never knew existed. Hey, I just sprung…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-webster/der-die-das-dem-den-des-german-s-six-ways-of-saying-the-like-six/) [Barry Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-webster/) > [A silence, the brief Sabbath of an hour, Reigns o'er the fields; the laborer sits within His dwelling; he has left his steers awhile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/a-silence-the-brief-sabbath-of-an-hour-reigns-o-er-the-fields-the/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [There is no den in the wide world to hide a rogue. Commit a crime, and the earth is made of glass. Commit a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-no-den-in-the-wide-world-to-hide-a-rogue-commit-a-crime-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Hypocrisy is the audacity to preach integrity from a den of corruption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-fesler/hypocrisy-is-the-audacity-to-preach-integrity-from-a-den-of-corruption/) [Wes Fesler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-fesler/) > [On the other hand, if I walk in the house, I don't even bother to find her, I just walk in the den and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/on-the-other-hand-if-i-walk-in-the-house-i-don-t-even-bother-to-find/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [My mother thought Hollywood was a den of iniquity, and people came to terrible bad ends there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-carlisle/my-mother-thought-hollywood-was-a-den-of-iniquity-and-people-came-to/) [Kitty Carlisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-carlisle/) > [ Man blindly works the will of fate. \[Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-martin-wieland/man-blindly-works-the-will-of-fate-ger-blindlings-that-er-blos-den/) [Christoph Martin Wieland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-martin-wieland/) ## More by Elisabeth Elliot > [All our problems are theological ones, William Temple said. All of them have to do with our relationship to God and his to us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/all-our-problems-are-theological-ones-william-temple-said-all-of-them/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [Discipline, for the Christian, begins with the body. We have only one. It is this body that is the primary material given to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/discipline-for-the-christian-begins-with-the-body-we-have-only-one-it/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [It seems disrespectful to me to see ladies in church in very short skirts or skimpy, sleeveless tops. I would imagine that it could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/it-seems-disrespectful-to-me-to-see-ladies-in-church-in-very-short/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [The deepest lessons come out of the deepest waters and the hottest fires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/the-deepest-lessons-come-out-of-the-deepest-waters-and-the-hottest/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [Everything if given to God can become your gateway to joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/everything-if-given-to-god-can-become-your-gateway-to-joy/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [Lead me, Lord, to the Rock that is higher than I. Let me hear your word, give me grace to obey, to build steadily,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/lead-me-lord-to-the-rock-that-is-higher-than-i-let-me-hear-your-word/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [Experience had quickly taught her that she could not survive the storms without the anchor of the constraining love of Christ and what she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/experience-had-quickly-taught-her-that-she-could-not-survive-the/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [The pain of loneliness is one way in which he wants to get our attention. We may be earnestly desiring to be obedient and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/the-pain-of-loneliness-is-one-way-in-which-he-wants-to-get-our/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [“If men and women were surer of their God there would be more genuine manliness, womanliness, and godliness in the world, and a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/if-men-and-women-were-surer-of-their-god-there-would-be-more-genuine/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [I believe with all my heart God's Story has a happy ending. . . But not yet, not necessarily yet. It takes faith to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/i-believe-with-all-my-heart-god-s-story-has-a-happy-ending-but-not/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [“I do know that waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the heart to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/i-do-know-that-waiting-on-god-requires-the-willingness-to-bear/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [“What do women want today? What do men want? I mean, deep down. What do they really want? If ‘times’ have changed, have human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/what-do-women-want-today-what-do-men-want-i-mean-deep-down-what-do/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [God will never disappoint us… If deep in our hearts we suspect that God does not love us and cannot manage our affairs as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/god-will-never-disappoint-us-if-deep-in-our-hearts-we-suspect-that/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [Muddled thinking inevitably results in muddled living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/muddled-thinking-inevitably-results-in-muddled-living/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [The world cries for men who are strong--strong in conviction, strong to lead, to stand, to suffer. I pray that you will be that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/the-world-cries-for-men-who-are-strong-strong-in-conviction-strong-to/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) [Explore all 273 Elisabeth Elliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) ## More Choices quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Don’t allow anyone to pressure you into taking a job in a field that doesn’t feel right in your gut. You are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-james/don-t-allow-anyone-to-pressure-you-into-taking-a-job-in-a-field-that/) Alison James > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Movies have power. Power to impact society and the choices we make. I want to entertain, but I also want to say something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/movies-have-power-power-to-impact-society-and-the-choices-we-make-i/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [Clarissa," he said, "here with the vampire, I see. When things have settled a bit, we really must discuss you choice in pets..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/clarissa-he-said-here-with-the-vampire-i-see-when-things-have-settled/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Change is inevitable but personal growth is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/change-is-inevitable-but-personal-growth-is-a-choice/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Act always so as to increase the number of choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-von-foerster/act-always-so-as-to-increase-the-number-of-choices/) [Heinz von Foerster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-von-foerster/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [I don't know that any woman could ever not think about that at some point - even making the choice not to do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-watts/i-don-t-know-that-any-woman-could-ever-not-think-about-that-at-some/) [Naomi Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-watts/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Browse all 11,466 Choices quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Faith is not an instinct. 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