“I’m Not Feeling It.”

I recently came across this paragraph that caused me to underline and highlight it with such passion that I resembled a five-year-old coloring feverishly to finish his picture for his mom on Mother’s Day before she came downstairs.

“I have put great emphasis on the fact that Christians worship because they want to, not because they are forced to. But I have never said that we worship because we feel like it. Feelings are great liars. If Christians worshiped only when they felt like it, there would be precious little worship. Feelings are important in many areas but completely unreliable in matters of faith. Paul Scherer is laconic: “The Bible wastes very little time on the way we feel.” – Eugene Peterson, “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction”

This paragraph caused me to stop and reflect with heartfelt conviction as well as passionate agreement, feeling the need to bow down in humble repentance, while at the same time standing in thunderous applause. Why? Because it confronts me with my heart for Jesus and my praise of him. It causes me to honestly and critically think about what type of praise I am bringing to Jesus that is truly worthy of who he is and what he has done on my behalf.

In worship gatherings around the world, we, as followers of Jesus, gather to give praise, glory, and honor to God. And yet, are we truly prepared before we arrive to come before God in praise and worship of him? Do we prepare our hearts before we leave our homes to bring our offering before our King or just give him whatever is left over? And then when we show up, do we engage in worship or simply sit (or stand) in reserved fashion because it’s our personality to do so? Or we are waiting for some emotional rush to move us to finally engage in worship?

“I’m just not feeling it today.” Is this a legitimate feeling? Of course it is. But it seems like more of an excuse to not worship than it is a reason that is acceptable to God. Think about it: how much of our faith journey is our obedience to God, doing things that we would prefer not to do because of our pull toward sin (Romans 7.15-25)? But we still strive to obey God because he’s worthy. So why should it be any different with our praise and worship of God? I’m convinced that it shouldn’t be different at all, but rather we’ve made it understandable and therefore our reason to not worship God like the saints and angels who surround the throne of God are doing right now (read Revelation 4-5 and be amazed with their response to Jesus in praise and worship).

Now, please hear my heart. This is a not a challenge to settle for some experience-driven fantasy that leaves us unsatisfied with feelings of euphoria that leave us short of encountering God, feelings that fade away and dissolve like cotton candy in our mouths. It’s also not a call to ignore all feelings during worship in order to merely sing songs while having no real love for God as the melodies flow from our mouths. Rather, it’s an invitation for all of us to engage, by faith, in true worship of God, regardless of how we are feeling in the moment, from an obedient heart of gratefulness and submission to our Lord and God, while trusting God to bless us with whatever God-given experience and revelation he wants for us in that moment. It’s an invitation to come boldly and honestly before God in our times of suffering and grief, and to still in those moments decide to worship God because we choose to trust him. It’s not a call to “fake it until we make it.” God is not pleased with fake worship (Matthew 15.7-9). Rather, it’s a call to worship by faith drenched in the hope that God is still God and God will come through and fulfill every part of his will. It’s a call to worship God in song because it pleases him. It’s a call to worship God in everyday life (Colossians 3.17) in a manner that is holy and acceptable to him (Romans 12.1). It’s a call to stop thinking that God is only worthy of worship when we deem him worthy, and come back to the fact that God is ALWAYS worthy of our praise and worship simply because of who he is. My feelings in the moment do not change the fact that God is worthy!

Read, hum, and sing through these words that millions of followers of Jesus have sung ever since they were penned by Thomas Ken in 1674:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him, above ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Feelings may be helpful in some scenarios, but they are never foundational for followers of Jesus who long to live lives of worship to God by faith. Why? Because feelings are great liars. Faith, on the other hand, ushers us into the presence of Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life.

So, let’s worship! Why? Because Jesus is worth it. He is amazing and holy. He is worthy and awesome. He loves us beyond our ability to truly understand, a love that nothing and no one can separate us from. He came, died, and rose from the dead, redeeming us by his grace so that we may know God. He sympathizes with us in our weaknesses and continues his ministry of intercession on our behalf before the Father. He indwells us, by his Holy Spirit, and gives us everything necessary to live in godliness. And the list goes on and on.

So, again: let’s worship Jesus. All day, every day, especially when we’re not feeling it.