It was a decisive moment in my life. I was a teenager. It was Sunday morning, and my Mom had just called me to get up. I lay in the bed and said to myself, “I just don’t feel like it.” I had stayed up too late the night before, and the bed was oh so warm and comfortable. “If I lie here long enough,” I thought, “she would either be late herself or she would leave without me. After all, my Dad was always home on Sunday morning. I could stay with him.”
As I hatched my plan to sleep in, another thought occurred to me. What about next Sunday? Would I really want to get up any more on that Sunday than this? And the honest answer was “no.” I’ve always been a bit groggy in the morning. Then I asked myself one more question, “Do I want to walk away from God?” And the answer was “no.” I suddenly realized that if I gave into this feeling, I could be starting a habit that took me away from God. I got up and went to church.
And so it has gone with my life. I have to admit the things that I have “forced” myself to do have blessed my life. Some decisions shouldn’t be made on emotions alone, but with reason and reflection. Emotions have their place, but sometimes, we have to put emotions in their place and use our will.
Certainly there are areas of life where it is proper to say “I just don’t feel like it.” Some choices in life really don’t matter. But all of us realize that sometimes we have to overcome our feelings. I just can’t say “I don’t feel like it” to taking out the trash, balancing my checkbook, paying the bills, and a long list of other necessary things.
The same is true in the spiritual realm. Satan may use our feelings to weaken our resolve and start us down the wrong path. Emotions go up and down. They vacillate with mood and circumstance, but the important things in life need commitment and constancy. In those weak moments, our emotions need to be overruled by our will. Sometimes “I just don’t feel like it” are dangerous words.
while today 