Sometimes I don’t want to answer my phone, so I let the call go to my voice mail. And, sometimes, I don’t feel like doing the unselfish thing. I want to just sit in my cozy chair and take a power nap, or watch TV. I don’t want to do one more thing today. I don’t want to respond to someone asking for advice. But just because I don’t feel like it, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do it.
This might really shock you. Sometimes I don’t feel like praying or reading my Bible or going to my Bible Study group. But I do it. I’ve found that if the only time I pray or read my Bible is when I feel like it, Satan makes sure I never feel like it. I’ve been in this “mature” relationship with God long enough that I know I must live my life by my commitments, not by my feelings.
The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people are willing to do what unsuccessful people don’t feel like doing. They develop habits. They stay committed. They don’t get to the Olympics because they feel like it. They get to the Olympics by hours and hours of training that they didn’t feel like doing. In the same way, we don’t become godly men or women by simply doing what we feel like doing. Godly men and women choose to develop the habits that produce godliness in their lives. It’s not any easier than working out or rehearsing or anything else that may be good for us but we don’t feel like doing.
Probably the greatest example in the Bible of persistence is Moses. For 40 years, he led whining, complaining, immature people around the desert while they questioned his leadership the entire time. Yet he never gave up. Hebrews 11:27 says, “It was faith that made Moses leave Egypt without being afraid of the king’s anger. As though he saw the invisible God, he refused to turn back..” Moses saw the invisible God. He kept his eyes on God. So, rather than retreating – we carry on and we keep our eyes on God, too! We continue our persistence to win the battle by being God’s devoted, persistent followers and by doing the uncomfortable. Hearing “Well done, good and faithful servant,” will make it worth it all.
