Hooked On A Feeling

Feb 8, 2006

This past Saturday the marathon crew ran nine miles. I do not know if you have ever experienced an endorphin rush…but I had one at about mile eight and I just about went crazy. When I finished I ran back and ran in with some other peeps…and then I went to the gym and rode the bike for 30 minutes…AND I was hyper for the rest of the day.

Yesterday I did my fastest three mile time that I have done during training…I felt like I was flying. (Sing with me, “I believe I can fly…”)

Today we did 5.5 miles—and how did I feel—to be honest, I felt like a one legged man in a butt kicking contest!!! (Let that sink in before you move on.)

You see, when it comes to running there are days that it is just easy—everything is flowing, you get in a zone and feel like you can just go forever. AND then there are days like today—where your legs feel like cement and you are constantly aggravated by the persistent wedgy. (If you are a runner—you KNOW what I am talking about!)

But here is the deal—tomorrow morning my alarm will go off at 4:50…and I will get up and prepare to meet the crew at 6:00…and I will give it my best…and I will run as well as I can. You see, I have discovered that if you let how you feel govern whether or not you run, heck, I am not sure I would ever run.

The same is true when it comes to walking with Christ. Let’s all be honest—there are days when it’s easy to follow Christ. Maybe it’s Sunday—and you come to church…and God really speaks to you through the message or a song. Maybe you offer up a prayer…and God answers it in like five minutes. Maybe you are riding down the road in the car and one of your favorite worship songs comes on and you can just feel the presence of God—right there.

And when these things happen—it’s EASY to follow Christ…it literally almost takes no effort at all.

However, there are days when you come to church—and maybe the Lord speaks to you, but instead of a pat on the back it’s a kick in the rear. Or maybe you are riding down the road in the same car and someone pulls out in front of you. Or maybe you are praying about something—but it doesn’t “feel” like your prayers are getting through; in fact, it feels more like they are hitting a wall.

It’s a sad fact—but the things that take place in the paragraph above often cause many to turn away from following Christ—all because they don’t “feel the chill.”

But as I go to Scripture—Jesus hasn’t asked us to be fair weather followers…He’s asked us to follow Him…NO MATTER WHAT!

You see, if I only followed Christ when I felt like it-well, let’s just say I would probably not be in the ministry. (And neither would any pastor who is reading this!) Christianity is more than a feeling…it’s a fact! Work with me here—it’s a fact that God reigns—that Jesus paid for sin on the cross—that the Bible is true—that God cares about us more than we care about ourselves—those things are fact!!!

But when we lose sight of those things and only follow God when it is convenient OR when He makes us feel good—well, we pretty much put Him on the same level as a prostitute. And let me assure you He’s not OK with that.

Are you hooked on a feeling…OR…are you hooked into facts?

I will get up and run in the morning…even though it wasn’t as good today as I had hoped for. AND I will follow Christ today…even if I don’t feel like it at times. That’s what we are called to do.

Don’t get hooked on a feeling—they are nice—but Jesus never meant for mere feelings to sustain our walk with Him—when you can’t feel Christ then you’ve still got to trust He is REAL…just as real as He was when you had your most intimate experience with Him—He never changes!

So go for it today! Radically follow Him…and let Him rock your world!