I Didn’t Feel Like Going to Church Today

I wake up like this sometimes. I woke up with this thought running through my head this morning, in fact. I was so tired, and sleepy, and I just didn’t want to crawl out of bed. I wanted to stay there, covered with blankets, all snuggly and warm. Sure, church only lasts for an hour or so, and theoretically I could always just go back to bed when we got back home, but that’s not the point. The point is.. it’s Sunday, and I need to be at church. I mean, I really NEED to be at church. I’ve just recently, in the last 6 months, started regaining my lost faith, and I can’t afford to start backpedaling now, can I? And THAT is the point. See, it’s way too easy to just say “Okay, I’ll skip just this once. I’ll go next week. I promise.” Yeaaaaah. THAT works. Been there, done that. That’s a tough road, full of “No U-turn” signs, and once you start down it, it’s next to impossible to get back on track. It’s all to easy next week to say “Ok, I’ve already missed one week. Another week won’t really hurt that much, right?”

WRONG!

See, that’s not God talking. I can’t even blame that one on my mind, my brain, or my body. There’s only one thing causing those doubts, those motivational issues that keep me away from God’s house.. the adversary. Slewfoot. Old Satan himself. He doesn’t want me to go. Why? Well, for obvious reasons. If I go to church, I grow closer to God. If I grow closer to God, he has less of a hold on me. I grow stronger. I’m better able to resist his tricks. And that, my friends, I must do. I have to resist temptations and urges and things that go against God’s will for me. How can I not? After everything God has done for me, everything he’s given me, everything he’s brought me through, I have no choice but to completely surrender to His will and follow Him.

So, no matter that I woke up with a headache this morning. No matter that I didn’t get enough sleep. No matter that I was tired and cranky and wanted to just curl back up. I got up, I got dressed, and I went to church. I chose to follow God’s leading, not give in to the evil one’s temptations. And the result? I didn’t need to go back to sleep when I got home. I was rested enough. I was motivated. I accomplished stuff. And I had a great time at church. Of course, it’s not my regular church. I have a feeling that that one won’t be my regular for long, honestly. But, more on that in another post. Keep an eye out for it soon.

I guess the moral of the story is this: Do what you know is right. It doesn’t matter if you’re tired. Get up and go. It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel well. Get up, get dressed, and put on your game face. You won’t regret it. Besides, do you really want to face God one day and, when He asks why you never went to church, and answer the only way you could: “Sorry, Lord, I was a little bit tired.” I can just hear God’s reply.

“You didn’t feel like going? Well, my Son didn’t feel like being arrested, beaten and bloodied, dragged through the streets, and left hanging on a wooden beam to die. But He did it.. for you!”