It’s Saturday night and Easter Sunday is just hours away. I’ve watched several online videos about the significance of the Death and Resurrection of Christ but I’ll have to admit—I’m feeling numb to it all. I know I should be excited about this day. I know it’s the pivotal event for Christ-followers. But I’m just not feeling it.
Does this just happen to me? Have I heard the story so many times that it no longer grabs me emotionally? Can I blame it on the burnout I’ve recently been grappling with? (I’ve been traveling a lot lately; too many road miles it seems. My body has also been run down; I think I’m finally getting over a head cold that has gripped me for several weeks.)
Or is it simply another reminder that our faith is not based on feeling but on fact?
Not too long ago I delivered six sessions on one day. By number five I was really dragging. I felt that my presentation had fallen flat; that I had lost all passion for one of my favorite stories in the Bible. What fascinated me, however, was how well the Q & A period went right after I had finished my labored delivery. We got on to this issue of faith versus feeling. That faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). That often as we mature in our faith our emotions, feelings, and experiences lessen—that we must tenaciously hang on, especially when we don’t feel like it. That sometimes, though not always, feelings might follow the choice to act out of our beliefs.
I believe that the death and resurrection of Christ is the greatest event that ever took place in history. I have a joy that is deep-seated though not always felt. And tomorrow I will choose to worship with thousands of others based on my beliefs rather than on my feelings. Perhaps my emotions will be touched, and possibly not.
So how about you? Have you discovered that the longer you follow Christ the more you walk by faith than by sight? What about the frequency of your feelings and emotions? If that is going down how do you deal with it? Is your faith growing cold or is it actually growing deeper?
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