I had a wonderful choir teacher in high school who is well-known and has a reputation for excellence. Part of that comes from the high demands she puts on her choirs. I can remember times in high school where we had three or four concerts in a given week (especially around Christmas time), and on top of that was homework and the emotional baggage that comes with being a teenager. Our director always wanted high energy in our concerts and wanted us to engage with the audience. But so often we were drained and exhausted, and that song that was once inspiring had lost its luster after the 100th time of singing it. Our director wasn’t interested in excuses or settling; she told us, “Fake it until you feel it!”

It seems like a funny expression, but clinical psychologists and behavioral counselors will tell you that it’s a phrase that is often employed. They know that our feelings can often have a negative effect on our behavior and we have to combat those emotions. A friend of mine who struggles with depression was told to discern his feelings. Sometimes they come from God, sometimes they come from the devil, sometimes they come from you. In the Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis suggests that the devil plays on our emotions and feelings for his advantage.

Those who go into the military start off with boot camp, which includes hell week. The military has figured out that the first step to creating a disciplined soldier is not teaching him or her how to use a gun. It’s breaking down the way they’ve done things for the last 18+ years and teaching them how to do it differently. Of course it’s hell! Who wants to get up at 5 AM when they’re used to waking up at 7 AM? Who wants to run and march ten miles when they usually don’t walk one mile in a given day? What’s the military’s response? Do it anyway.

So, fake it until you feel it. I’m not suggesting “faking” worship. But what I am saying is this. Sometimes in my own life I don’t feel like praying or worshiping, but those are the moments I know I need to the most because my heart is far away from the Lord’s. If I were to just give up and say, “I don’t feel like it today,” and I used that excuse every time I didn’t feel like it, can you imagine the spiritual mess I would be?

Sometimes we worship because our feelings motivate us. We are overcome by the goodness of God, and we are inclined to worship. Sometimes, we have to worship in spite of our feelings. If you’re interested in being a living sacrifice, you have to learn to worship at all times. We are told to love the Lord our God. If we express that love only when things are good, then we are bound to have a very distorted view of God and remain childish in our faith.

Sometimes I find that when I don’t feel like worshiping, something as simple as lifting my hand can be a step of faith. I often find that my heart will tend to follow. Take that step today. Worship God in spite of your emotions, meditate on the mercy of God, and let your actions dictate your feelings – not the other way around.

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