Daily devotion – When you just don’t feel like it!
Obedience Beyond Feelings
Cold mornings, winter mist, and icy winds blowing up from Antarctica can make it difficult to get out of bed and face the responsibilities of the day. Feelings often try to derail us from doing what we know we should do and what is right to do.
The Christian life is no different. We all experience times when our emotions rise up to blunt our enthusiasm and hinder our walk with God. Yet Scripture consistently teaches that obedience is not based on feelings but on faith.
When Moses delivered God’s instructions concerning the Passover, there was no discussion about how the Israelites might feel about leaving Egypt. Egypt was the only home many of them had ever known. Their parents and grandparents had lived there before them. There was no consultation regarding how their children might feel about relocating to an unknown land they had never seen.
God gave the command, and His people were called to obey.
When a soldier receives orders from a commanding officer, he is not expected to respond, “I don’t feel like doing that.” The order requires obedience, not emotional agreement.
Likewise, many Christians struggle when God’s Word calls them to worship, serve, pray, forgive, give, or witness. They may say, “I don’t feel called,” or “I don’t feel motivated.” Yet our obedience to Christ is never meant to be governed by our emotions.
Jesus said:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
— John 14:15
Notice that Jesus did not say, “If you feel like it.” Love for Christ is demonstrated through obedience.
Imagine a mother who only cared for her children when she felt like it. Or a father who only went to work when he felt motivated. Families would quickly suffer. Mature love acts according to responsibility, not emotion.
The Israelites could have protested and said they did not feel like slaughtering a lamb or smearing its blood over their doorposts. They may not have understood the full significance of what God was asking them to do. Yet they obeyed.
Exodus 12:28 tells us:
“Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.”
Because they obeyed, they were spared from judgment and delivered from bondage.
Tomorrow morning, you may not feel like praying. You may not feel like opening your Bible. You may not feel like gathering with God’s people or serving the Lord in some capacity. Set aside that spiritual immaturity and simply obey.
Paul reminds us:
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
— Galatians 6:9
And again:
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:7
Faith obeys even when feelings are absent. In fact, many times our feelings follow our obedience rather than precede it.
As the Israelites discovered on that first Passover night, God’s commands are always for our good. When we obey Him, we place ourselves in the pathway of His blessing, protection, and purpose.
You may not always feel like obeying, but you will never regret doing what God has asked you to do.
“To obey is better than sacrifice.” — 1 Samuel 15:22
Obedience always pays off.