“But I don’t feel like it”

One of the great obstacles in my journey to worship is my feelings.  I want to seek God’s presence.  I want to study His word.  I want to pray.  I want to sing songs of worship to Him.  But I don’t feel like it!  I want to but I don’t feel like it.  That’s our problem.

Our feelings come from our thoughts.  According to Dr. Caroline Leaf, scientists have found that 75% to 95% of current mental, physical and emotional illnesses come from our thought life.  Did you catch that?  Your thoughts control so much yet we don’t have a class on thought control in school.  I’ll come back to some more of Dr. Leaf’s findings in a bit but consider this.  If my health and how I feel are largely due to my thoughts and my choices are often influenced by how I feel then don’t you think I should focus each day on determining my thought life as a top priority?  Absolutely!

Here’s why.  Dr. Leaf in her many books discusses that information comes into your brain and is then processed.  When it’s processed it forms little trees in your head.  So the information coming in is just that information.  But how I choose to process it determines whether a pretty tree is formed or whether an ugly mass is formed.  And whatever choices I make regularly forms larger trees.  And so when situations arise and I have a choice to make I am more likely to respond according to the larger trees.

Let’s unpack this a bit.  So let’s pretend I receive some news.  My car has just thrown a rod and must be taken to the junkyard to be disposed of.  Is this good news or bad news?  If I say it’s bad news than I can be sad and fret over all the stuff I have to go through now that my car is gone.  But if I choose for it to be good news than I look for ways to come up with money to get a new car and I can excitedly look online to see all the possible wonderful vehicles that I might choose from.  One choice is depressing.  Another is exhilarating.  It’s up to me to choose which way I will perceive the same data that has come to me.

We as Christians have seen scriptures that hinted at this phenomenon before.  Here are a few to help us get past “I don’t feel like it”:

James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

When I have trials I can be sad and depressed.  Or I can be excited about the fact that I’m getting stronger and better and God is trusting me with greater challenges which means I must be getting wiser and more like Him.

Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

We can lose heart because of the stuff we find ourselves going through.  I never thought I’d be overweight.  Never imagined my children would have problems in school.  Never imagined that my wife and I (or husband and I) wouldn’t get along…you know all the things we never imagined that we find in our lives.  But we are told to consider Jesus who endured “such opposition from sinners” so we won’t get tired and lose heart. Jesus focused on “the joy” set before Him and not on the suffering that came along with pursuit of the joy.  Is it any wonder that he would get up a great while before day and spend lots of time with His father?

We need to spend time in the presence of our heavenly father!  We need to choose to process things the way He sees them.When we make this choice consistently we form a “Forest” of positive and healthy trees in our brain.  When we are faced with a challenge or crisis we will tend to respond according to the bigger trees of our mind.

If I’m serious about worship then I must bring every thought into subjection.

Philippians 4:8 tells us, “ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

These instructions are so that we will be happy and healthy.  These choices to build healthy thoughts will build a healthy life and healthy feelings…and healthy worship.  Worship that focuses on me–my stuff, my feelings, my problems, isn’t worship at all.  Remember to worship something or someone is to say that it or he/she is valuable.  Worship that focuses on the nature of God will magnify all of his positive attributes.  Worship that focuses on our creator will remind us that he is Holy, all powerful, and eternal.  We will remember that he made everything by His own choice.  After we worship in the right way–focusing on God, He will appear bigger and our problems smaller.  He will be pleased.  And we will be too.

So choose to magnify God.  Think about Him as often as you would your lover or your favorite toy.  Think about Him and all of his wonder.  Then your feelings will change.  And so will your perspective on the problems you face.

(Today would be a good day to sing “Beautiful”,  “Where You Are” or “I Love Your Name“)

It’s important to me to hear your thoughts about what I’m sharing.  This is a discussion so please leave a comment below…oh yes, and don’t forget to subscribe to www.journeytoworship.org below! 🙂