My young friend’s question was as deeply earnest as it was misguided:
“I know I need to read and pray every day, but isn’t it just hypocritical to go through the motions on days when I’m not feelin’ it?”
It’s not hard to trace this line of reasoning to its source. In Western thought, a command to love is nearly an oxymoron—or an outrage.
Love is a word that conjures visions of irresistible urges and involuntary heart palpitations. And a command to love suggests hypocrisy, coercion, or legalism.
A Clear Biblical Assignment
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5
In Deuteronomy 6, God’s Words through His servant Moses set the agenda for an entire nation.
Shema, the Hebrew verb translated “to hear,” carries with it an implied obedience.
This is the type of hearing that results in action.
And just in case we’re tempted to dismiss the biblical connection between hearing, loving, and doing as applicable only to Old Testament souls, Jesus picked up on the theme in Mark 12.
A Pharisee’s probing question about the foremost commandment afforded the perfect opportunity for Jesus to reinforce the relationship between obedience and love. He assured His listeners (and present-day readers) that the command to hear and to love is still the foundation of our faith.
In fact, He declared it to be “the first of all the commandments.” (Mk 12:29)
While God is clear in His requirement for obedience, what He really desires from His children—what all parents desire from their children—is obedience springing forth from a heart of love.
What To Do When I’m Not Feelin’ It?
Worshiping in a small church where everyone wears many hats, it’s easy to lose sight of the connection between loving and doing.
Serving a family with small children or elderly parents (or both), the heart tends to shift into auto-pilot, feeding and clothing bodies, applying Band-Aids, providing transportation, and even saying prayers from a place of duty and routine.
Small wonder, then, that some days I open my Bible in the same spirit with which I brush my teeth.
Is this obedience or habit? Am I coming to the Word of Truth with loving anticipation?
As a New Covenant woman, the law “written on my heart” (Jeremiah 31:33 NKJV) fuels a connection between hearing and doing. But, like all Christians, I am an imperfect practitioner of God’s righteous requirements.
“To listen to one word and go out and obey it is better than having the most exalted ‘religious experience,’ for it puts us in touch with God Himself—it is a willed response.” ~Elisabeth Elliot
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No-nonsense wisdom from author and missionary Elisabeth Elliot lays out Christian obedience in this manner:
- Hear
- Do
- Know
“To listen to one word and go out and obey it is better than having the most exalted ‘religious experience,’ for it puts us in touch with God Himself—it is a willed response.” (A Lamp for My Feet, p. 40)
Some days, my “willed response” includes taking myself by the scruff of the neck and opening to the next page of my daily reading plan. It requires clearing the deck for focused prayer—even when I’m “not feelin’ it.”
This “willed response” is my pledge of allegiance that says, “I trust you, Lord. This is what you have laid out as the path to knowing you, and I will meet you on this path, even when my feelings don’t support my actions.”
Prayer as Preparation for Obedience
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments,” said Jesus on the last evening of his earthly life. (John 14:15)
He then proceeded to set the example, going immediately from discourse to duty.
“In his anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.” (Luke 22:44 NRSV)
Jesus poured his heart’s anxiety and terror out into the darkness of Gethsemane, and His prayer accomplished within him what my own heart needs: obedience that will be lived out regardless of the circumstances or conditions.
In their failure to pray, the disciples embodied the opposite: a lack of preparation for a sinewy obedience.
Three times Jesus invited them into His preparatory prayer and three times they fell asleep on the job.
“Could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial…” (Matthew 26:40, 41 NRSV)
When soldiers arrived with their torches and swords, the disciples’ mad dash to safety was a knee-jerk response, but it was rooted in their failure to hear, to do, and to love Jesus well by entering into His pain. It was an outcome of their inability to identify with Jesus in His hours of greatest sorrow.
Appropriating Jesus’s Perfect Obedience
The moments when I have failed in hearing, obeying, and knowing Jesus are the moments when the Gospel is the very best news to me, for He did far more than set an example in Gethsemane.
His perfect obedience led Him to the cross, where He not only took my sin but also imputed His righteousness to me. In grace, Christ transfers His perfect record of hearing, doing, and knowing to my account!
He lives with me by His Spirit so that the stone tablets of law-keeping have been transformed into fleshy, living desire, enabling me to want what God wants, to love what He loves, and, therefore, to begin to know Him.
Jesus is the only one who has ever perfectly heard, obeyed, and known the Father. I will only ever begin to move toward loving God comprehensively, with heart, soul, and might, as I abide in Christ.
The moments when I have failed in hearing, obeying, and knowing Jesus are the moments when the Gospel is the very best news to me.
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- He has perfectly attended to the Word of Truth.
- He has offered up perfect obedience.
- He has known God because He is one with God.
Christ gladly makes a gift of His own perfect hearing, knowing, and doing, inviting us to walk in obedience as His Spirit transforms our hearts and translates our efforts into love.
What command do you need to hear and obey so that you can move forward into a fuller knowledge of God?
Are you willing to take action today and trust that your feelings will eventually fall in line?
“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21 ESV)
And Now Let’s Talk Books…
I don’t have many regrets, but I definitely have misgivings about my college major. Why didn’t I major in theology? Answer: I thought it was too hard for me to manage.
Consequently, I’ve spent the past decade or two trying to catch up on all that I missed. I’ve concentrated on reading books like Every Woman a Theologian because they lift the conversation above the rantings of the Theo-Bros and the steady stream of arguments on Twitter.
Phylicia Masonheimer brings all the biblical fidelity and clarity of a theology textbook within the helpful context of her own backstory including everything from deliverance from her porn addiction to the daily details of marriage and motherhood. She exposes her readers to the words and work of prominent theologians and makes it clear that whatever camp we claim, our view of God impacts the way we live and work.
I appreciated Masonheimer’s counsel to “diversify the voices we listen to” and her conviction that we need not all agree on second and third-tier issues. For example, orthodox believers can disagree about the timing of Christ’s return, but we must stand strong on core doctrines such as Christ’s humanity or bodily resurrection.
Believers with questions need solid direction that takes them directly to Scripture for their answers, and at the very least, those who are walking away from the faith need to know exactly what they are walking away from.
Holding You in the Light,
In #EveryWomanaTheologian, I appreciated #phyliciamasonheimer’s counsel to “diversify the voices we listen to” and her conviction that we need not all agree on second and third-tier issues. @ThomasNelson
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Every month I send a newsletter with biblical encouragement straight to my subscribers’ email inboxes. Frequently, I share free resources, and the newsletter is where everything lands first. I’m committed to the truth that women can become confident followers of God and students of his Word, and it’s my goal to help you along that path.
To add this free resource to your pursuit of biblical literacy, simply CLICK HERE. There, on Substack’s website, you’ll find a prompt that looks just like this image for Living Our Days with Michele Morin. Over on that site, simply enter your email and then click on the purple “SUBSCRIBE” button.
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I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees. If you should decide to purchase any of the books or products I’ve shared, simply click on the image, and you’ll be taken directly to the seller. If you decide to buy, I’ll receive a few pennies at no extra charge to you.
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
Living Our Days 
Michele: God loves us and is faithful to us, even when we are not faithful. He forgives us because He loves us. There are times I can’t pray. He understands, That’s when the Holy Spirit takes over and prays for us.
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I believe this as well, and am grateful for the ministry of the Holy Spirit who guides us into truth and makes intercession for us with perfect wisdom.
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You are so right, Michele. Sometimes we have to make the effort, and then the feelings follow. This has been my experience numerous times over the years. On the other hand, there have also been times when the spiritual high I was looking for didn’t materialize. But the satisfaction of pressing ahead anyway is also worthwhile!
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Yes, I think we need a more realistic approach to our expectations around feelings and our motivation for Bible study or prayer. I think the word maintenance describes my experience most days—not very scintillating, but then, imagine what would happen to our vehicles if we only changed oil or brake pads in response to our feelings!
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Excellent point, Michele!
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I think the times that I have prayed when I’m not feeling it have been the most powerful.
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There’s definitely something about “pushing through” that makes for a meaningful connection with God. Of course, he’s there all the time–maybe the effort of attention is what helps us?
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Michele, such wise words here. Love is an ongoing choice, isn’t it? When we spend time in God’s word daily and in prayer, we become attuned to His spirit and to His guidance. I’m so thankful that God meets us when we come before Him, even when our hearts may be wandering or distracted. He equips us and loves us well, even when we fall short in loving Him well.
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“An ongoing choice!” Absolutely!
I want to show up in his presence on the reg’lar so that I will recognize his voice when it comes.
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‘the relationship between obedience and love.’
yes, I hear you. and will remember this the next time I feel something in my spirit that causes me to drag my feet instead of lift my hands, Michele.
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This idea was a huge encouragement to me because I don’t tend to function out of emotion, prompting me to question, “Do I really love God?” (Some days, “Do I really love ANYONE?”) Obedience has to carry me, but I’m learning that connection back to love is very valid and is received as love. (And, hence, my need to NOT OVERTHINK any of this…)
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Michele, your friend asked a good question. I’ve thought that at times myself. But obedience is key. Even if I’ve felt like I’m just not into my studies, I do it anyhow. Taking just a little time is for me the same powerfulness as when I spend a lot of time in his word.
Visiting today from G& T
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That routine and faithfulness to do the next thing is a powerful connection to our loving Heavenly Father.
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Michele, having gone through long seasons of fog, the idea of “autopilot” is helpful for me, rather than guilt-inducing. I keep trying to do what I know is right, with the understanding that eventually the fog will lift and the feelings will return. And even if they don’t, I’m thankful that God’s covenant with His children doesn’t depend on how we feel.
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Frederick Buechner said, “Beat a path to God long enough and he will meet you on that path, bearing the gift of himself.” That image has carried me through many dry seasons.
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This post pares so well with your next post – that by reaching out and doing by faith – the actions, the words full of hope and, as you say, aspiration – it is faith walking – doing it when you can’t grasp it(the idealization in the worship words) and the heart picking up that bible study, though their mind/heart doesn’t “feel” the desire to show up. But God does, show up – and it changes us! You are on fire, my friend, with your messages!
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I can’t help but think that God looks lovingly on my feeble efforts at knowing him. I’m distracted and half hearted so much of the time and yet God comes running to meet me like the good father he is!
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This is true, “Believers with questions need solid direction that takes them directly to Scripture for their answers, and at the very least, those who are walking away from the faith need to know exactly what they are walking away from.” Thanks for the book recommendation, Michele.
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