CAPA Corner: Obeying Despite Our Feelings

    Do you remember when your parents would tell you to do something and your response was, “I don’t feel like it.”  Do you remember their response? “I didn’t ask you if you felt like it, now do it.”
    If we based everything on our feelings we would do hardly anything if we didn’t find the importance in it. How many people feel like getting up early and working for 8 to 12 hours a day? Not many. How many kids feel like getting up early and going to school all day and then coming home to do homework? Not many or any. How many people feel like taking nasty medicine when they are sick? Not many. So why do we do these things we don’t feel like doing? Because they are important and necessary and in spite of our feelings they need to be done.
    This will help you in your Christian walk. How often do you not do something in your Christian walk because you do not feel like doing it? You don’t feel like studying God’s word,  praying, going to church, forgiving someone, or witnessing to a friend.  Where in the Bible does it say you have to feel like it first before you do it? It doesn’t. We as Christians must understand the importance of being a doer of his word and not a hearer only. When God tells us to do something like, “Repent!” or “Forgive!” and we don’t do it; it’s saying, “I don’t feel like it.” Remember, God didn’t ask if we felt like it or not, he told us to do it. He didn’t tell us to forgive someone when we felt comfortable doing it. Our Lord Jesus Christ said if you forgive, then your heavenly Father will forgive you and if you don’t forgive, God will not forgive you. It doesn’t leave any room for feelings. If it’s right and important and comes from God’s holy word, it must be done.
    We need to ask ourselves, “Is this important?” or better yet, “Is this important to God and my soul?” Is what God wants important? Is your soul important? When we realize what is truly important and necessary, we will do what needs to be done whether we feel like it or not. The more we are obedient to God’s holy word the more we will truly know him, and the more we truly know him the more we will feel like doing what he wants done.
    I John 2:3, “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.”
    The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Abiding in the Vine,
Kenny Kepper
Pastor
Berean Ministries