You dont always FEEL God, but you know he's there!

We have the best Pastor on earth! That being said, this is a concept that he talks about often, the fact that just because we may not always FEEL God, we know he is there! If we base our love and faithfullness for the Lord on our feelings alone, then we won't get very far in our walk with him. Just like in marriage, we don't always FEEL loved or loving towards our spouse, but we keep on going, working on it, and doing the things expected of us, because we know that we DO love them, they are our spouses! It is important that we don't base our obedience to Jesus on how we feel. I know that I myself have been guilty of this in the past. Its too easy to have a bad day, let your emotions get the best of you, and just conviently "forget" to pray or read your bible that day. I know in the past when I have felt I was in a "drought" and couldnt feel the Lord, I had often used that as my excuse to fall back outta my bible reading and prayer. What did that do? It only made me feel more out in the desert and alone.
Lets consider Noah for an example of the kind of obedience I'm speaking of. God spoke to him, told him what to do and he was faithful to that. Although it took years, and he was seriously ridiculed, and Im SURE he questioned his actions at time (he was in fact human), he STILL listened and followed through with what the Lord had told him to do. And what reward did he get!

Hebrews 11:7 "By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith."

In this age we are taught, even PROGRAMMED, to live our life by feelings and desires. We know as Christians that we are to conquer and overcome the desires of the world, and turn away from sin. That part becomes a lifestyle and becomes easier with everyday we walk next to the Lord. No, temptations never cease, but what Im saying is that after awhile with God, it becomes easier to leave it behind. But our FEELINGS never leave us, nor can we control them or make them become "easier" in any way.

We will always have bad days, down moods, and rainy days. Its human nature and its how our creator made us. But, it is how we HANDLE our bad days that determine how many we will have. God is not meant to always be FELT. But it is what we do when we dont feel him near that makes all the difference. Are you OBEDIENT even when you dont FEEL him?

If we can't feel the Lord one day, is it because of our attitude? Have we prayed that day? Did we start out in quiet time with the Lord? Or did we wake up and try to tackle the world all alone? Maybe that is why we dont feel God at times, because we didnt take the time to seek him

The next time I am having an awful day, or I feel like Im walking through a "valley" so to speak, I want to try this. Im going to read my bible, pray to the Lord to fix my attitude and if that doesnt work, I will make myself praise through it. I beleive the quickest way to get rid of a bad spirit/attitude is to "praise" it away! The enemy cant STAND when we lift up the Lord through our trying times!

So, the next time that YOU dont feel God will you still be obedient and seek after him? Or will you wonder why your mood won't change? Why the days keep getting worse? As Gods children we dont have to go through the valleys alone, and he is ALWAYS there, even when we cant FEEL him by our side!