When The Magic is Gone

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Do you ever base whether something is good or bad for you by the strength of emotion you feel?

Yeah, me too. However, I have realized that’s not a very good indicator as to what is best for me. For example, I have been feeling blah over the last several weeks. I read God’s word, and know His words are true. I believe them. I can apply them to my life, but I don’t always feel great emotion over them.

So, when asked how I keep such a positive outlook, the answer is simple. I CHOOSE TO.

I don’t always feel happy, but I still have joy. I don’t always feel God, but I know He’s there. I can’t always see how something could possibly go right, but I trust that God will work it out.

I’ve learned over the years that sometimes you have to keep doing what’s right regardless of how you feel. My youngest daughter told me last night that she is struggling to find the words to speak out about racism because she hasn’t personally experienced it (Thank God). She recognized that because she doesn’t FEEL it, she doesn’t always know what to say. I get it. I explained to her that even if she doesn’t feel the emotion behind it, she can still speak on it. She understood, but still expressed the difficulty in doing so without the emotions to back it up.

How many of you can totally identify with that?

Those of you who have been married for any significant amount of time know what I’m talking about when I say, the magic of marriage and feeling of butterflies does not stick around forever. Sometimes it comes and goes, and there are times when you doubt you’ll ever find it again. You must make the choice to love that person even when the magic is gone. You must make the choice to find ways to bring a semblance of magic back to the relationship. You must reach back and remember what you have committed to, and the words of the covenant foundation you built upon.

The same goes for our faith. There are times when it feels magical and we feel like praising from the mountain tops. A praise song comes on the radio and we sing every word with conviction, as we reflect on who our God is. Then there are times when we feel nothing. We don’t feel like reading the Bible, and we’re not sure it’s worth it anymore. Does God even care?

That’s when we must work to remember that commitment we made to believe Him, to trust Him, to praise Him regardless of how we feel or what our circumstances are. Come before Him, asking that He builds us back up in Him. We do that until we get back to feeling Him again. Until we can’t help but shout out that praise song in the shower. Until we get excited for the time we get to spend in His word.

He does care. He does love us and is committed to us.

Today I challenge you to get up, grab a cup of coffee (or tea), your Bible, and choose faith.

“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.” -2 Corinthians 4:7-9

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