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“The truth is we need to obey God even when we don’t feel like it.”

A thought by Kyle Idleman (2014-03-01) from his book, AHA: The God Moment That Changes Everything (p. 166). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

And we want the truth, don’t we?  But the truth is, I don’t feel like it.  And there is my problem, I don’t feel like it.

But Kyle says, “When we obey God without the motivation to do so, our feelings will eventually catch up with our actions.”

He goes on, “I remember learning this lesson when we lived in California. One thing that stressed me out there was the traffic. I hated sitting in traffic. One day I was sitting in a line of cars not going anywhere, riding the bumper of the car in front of me. I honked my horn, hoping that somebody miles up the road would hear it and decide to go a little faster. I kept switching lanes, trying to move ahead a few extra feet, and I was completely stressed out. I knew this wasn’t what God wanted for me. He wanted me to be at peace. I didn’t feel at peace, so I decided to fake it and see what would happen. I thought to myself, I’m not a man at peace, but if I was, what would I do? Well, for starters, I would back off the car in front of me. I would quit honking my horn, and I wouldn’t switch lanes. A man at peace would probably put in a sermon or worship CD. So I stuck in a worship CD. A man at peace would probably sing along with this CD, so I started to sing. A man at peace would smile, so I forced myself to smile. A man at peace might wave at somebody, so I waved. I thought a man at peace would probably let someone else in front of him. But it’s hard to say for sure, so I didn’t go ahead with that one. I don’t know when it happened, but at some point I began to feel at peace. You see, our attitudes and emotions can catch up with our actions. We are called to be obedient even when we don’t feel like it.”  

He then says, “Find your first step and act on it now, whether or not you want to. And you may find that along the road, with God’s help, actions that at first seem artificial can become authentic.”


So what do you need to do even if you don’t feel like it?
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