“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
— Galatians 6:9
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!”
— Psalm 103:1
Humans are peculiar creatures.
Take yesterday morning.
The alarm went off.
My human groaned like an old screen door in January.
He didn’t leap out of bed singing hymns.
He didn’t whistle.
Matter of fact, he sat there rubbing his eyes looking like he’d rather wrestle a nest of yellow jackets than face the day.
Now me?
I always feel like breakfast.
But I noticed something.
He shuffled to the porch with his coffee and his Bible.
He sighed before he opened it.
Then he bowed his head to pray.
I’ll admit, it didn’t look like one of those mountain-top moments folks talk about.
It looked… ordinary.
After a while he smiled.
Later that evening he said something I couldn’t quit chewing on.
“Sometimes,” he said, scratching behind my ears, “you don’t read your Bible because you feel close to God.
You read it because you want to stay close to Him.
Sometimes you don’t pray because you feel spiritual.
You pray because you need Him anyway.”
Well now… that’ll preach right there.
I don’t always feel like getting up when he rattles my leash before daylight.
But every single time we go, I’m glad we did.
Seems faith works a little like that too.
Feelings make fine passengers, but they’re terrible drivers.
If my human only prayed when he felt like it, there’d be plenty of quiet mornings.
If he only worshiped when the mood was just right, he’d miss hearing the very voice that lifts his weary heart.
If he only opened God’s Word when it felt exciting, he’d miss the steady bread that feeds a hungry soul.
I’ve learned that tails wag after the walk starts.
Hearts often warm after obedience begins.
Maybe that’s why God calls us faithful instead of merely emotional.
Some days obedience is joyful.
Some days it’s stubborn.
But both can honor the Lord.
So if today you’re saying, “I just don’t feel like praying…reading…or trying to worship,” don’t let your feelings have the last word.
Go anyway.
Open the Word anyway.
Pray anyway.
Worship anyway.
Because more often than not, you’ll find Jesus waiting on the other side of your obedience, reminding you He was faithful long before you felt like following.
Now that’s something worth wagging about.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
