You have known days where you lived on feelings. When everything is going great, feelings might carry the day. You have also known the other days. The feeling faded. The pull of worry or weariness or distraction took the lead. And the walk that had seemed strong began to follow the weather of the moment.
Many people stay in that pattern. They wait for the feeling to return before they bless, before they trust, before they seek. The Christian life becomes a series of rises and falls tied to the state of the heart.
The Psalms tell a different story. Over and over David speaks the words I will. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. When I am afraid I will trust in you. I will seek you early. I will meditate on your precepts. My heart is fixed, I will sing and give praise.
These are not descriptions of how David happened to feel. They are decisions he made with his will. He set the direction of his soul before the feeling caught up, and sometimes while the feeling still pulled the other way.
That is the power of decision in the Christian walk. Feelings come and go. They report the weather. Decisions set the course. Discipline is the practice of making those decisions again when the feeling has not yet agreed.
The shift is from a feelings based walk to a decision based walk. From asking how do I feel about the Lord today to declaring what I will do toward the Lord today.
You do not wait to feel strong before you decide to trust. You decide to trust, and strength is invited to follow. You do not wait to feel joyful before you decide to bless. You decide to bless, and the heart is trained to catch up.
When the valley is dark David could still say I will fear no evil for you are with me. The presence was the fact. The fear was the feeling. The decision was the I will.
When the day is ordinary and nothing dramatic is happening you can still say every day will I bless you and praise your name. The ordinary becomes the place where discipline is formed.
The Bible does not call you to manufacture feeling. It calls you to set your mind, to fix your heart, to decide your way. The I will of the Psalms is the language of a soul that has chosen its direction.
David wrote these words in caves, on battlefields, in moments of triumph and moments of deep trouble. The decision was the constant. The feeling was not.
Today you can practice this. Notice the place where a feeling has been steering. Anxiety, boredom, discouragement, distraction. Then speak the next I will. I will return my attention to you. I will cast this care on you. I will remember what you have done. I will walk in the light you have given.
The decisions are small. They are made many times. They are the discipline that keeps the walk from drifting when the weather changes. Over time the will that is set on the Lord becomes the steady path.
The Lord sees the heart that chooses him again. He honors the decision that refuses to wait for perfect feeling. He meets the one who says I will. Our Christian walk must be decision based, process based, based on disciplined action instead of acting on feeling.
Please join with your brother in praying over the prayer targets today.
Glory to God
grace and peace
