Let me be perfectly honest. I did not want to write this week. I sat down with no inspiration, a thing which I had had to spare in the weeks beforehand. I was frustrated, tired, and frankly kind of grumpy. I'm still a little grumpy. My mother is getting a little bit of that. Sorry, mom.
But as I sat in front of my computer, oh, ten minutes ago it must be now, finding every excuse to not write and having no ideas come to my head, I mentally slapped myself on the wrist. I said to myself, "you just have to push through this. No matter how you feel."
And, wow! Inspiration strikes in the least likely of places. Because right there I got a little tug at the side of my mind.
It's so easy to give up sometimes. To just let something slide because it's not noticeable, and you can. Especially in Christianity. To stop reading, worshiping, praying, because we're not feeling the way we normally do. How can what we bring to the table be worth anything if we're not feeling it? How can we sing thanks to God if we're not feeling grateful? And how can we be prayer warriors when we kneel and feel no strength in our prayers?
It's at times like this that I'm reminded of the very popular, often told story of the woman with the two coins. It's usually told in reference to giving and tithing, which makes sense. But Jesus said "She gave out of her poverty, put in everything"(Mark 12:44). Which really applies to other areas of our lives as well. The woman's sacrifice was greater than that of the Pharisees because she gave even when she actually had nothing to give. Christ values that sacrifice immeasurably more. And it's the same with the rest of our lives. Though it's good to praise the Lord when we're feeling full, and nice to read the Bible when we feel motivated, God values the other times as more precious. Because praying when we don't feel strong and praising when we feel empty is sacrifice; giving when we feel that we have nothing to give.
I'm not saying that's hard. I may or may not be sitting here contemplating throwing my computer across the room instead of finishing this article, because I am tired, people. And I've skipped prayer or not praised God because I felt like I had nothing to give.But the comfort of knowing that God cherishes those times when we do rally ourselves and pour out what we thought we did not even have encourages me just the same. So I encourage you this week, whether it be in your faith or a homework assignment or an appointment, do something you really don't want to. It feels all the more precious, not just to God, but to you.
