Love Isn’t a Feeling

By Guest Blogger February 19, 2016 Devotion

Why do we let feelings dictate us? If things are going great and we feel awesome, then we act awesome. If things aren’t going great and we feel discouraged, we often act depressed. I’ve come to realize (through the Holy Spirit) that I let feelings dictate me a lot, more than I thought. If I’m not feeling it, I certainly don’t pretend. We hear a lot in the secular world that if you’re not feeling it, don’t fake it. On the other hand we also hear in the realm of Christianity that sometimes we have to set feelings aside and act as if we are feeling it. It’s a war within our souls and we must fight it.

There are some days that I just don’t want to get out of the bed for prayer and study time. I want nothing more than to just slip back under the warm covers and snooze. But I get up. I wipe the sleepy out of my eyes and I crack open His Word. It’s the only thing that doesn’t change. I pray desperately for His Spirit to invade me and for His will to be done in my life, our life. I ask that He will help me keep His law and ways at the forefront of my mind. I may not be feeling it, but I am learning that I have to just do it. I have to keep pressing and pushing on until I feel again. It’s not about if I feel redeemed or if I feel like praying. I’m learning there are many time that I won’t feel.

Relationships can be crippled by feelings. We trudge through life with each other and one day we don’t feel it anymore. We don’t have that feeling when we first saw him, we don’t have the feeling after we first beheld their little faces. What do we do then? Do we just give up and walk out of their lives? No. Love is not a feeling, it’s loyalty. Our Savior may not have felt like leaving the riches of heaven. He may not have felt like enduring the beating, mockery, and scorning, but he didn’t let ‘not feeling it’ stop him. He did what he did because of loyalty and commitment. He was committed to pleasing His Father and making a way for redemption. We have to be committed to the loyalty we vowed to our Father, our husbands, and our children. That feeling will not always be there. When he says hurtful things or when they are blatantly disobeying, that feeling may not be there. We have to remember to press on. Keep loving, keep praying, and keep guiding.

If we go on feelings our whole lives, we will waver and not stand strong. If we’re rooted in His love and His Word, we can stand in the toughest of times. He never changes. We can be confident in His love for us and in the stability which He brings in our lives. Let it be what pushes you through the motions and into being loyal.

Father, we thank You for loyalty. You sent Your Son because You are loyal. Thank You for not changing your mind when it hurt so bad. Thank You Jesus that you didn’t go on a feeling. You were loyal to us and bled on that cross. May we be loyal in our relationships. Help us to stay committed no matter what. Help us to push feelings aside and do what we know is right. We want to stay committed to those in our lives as You do us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.