Celebrating the greatest day in human history should be life changing. Everyone should be exuding unspeakable joy and
unbridled enthusiasm. But on that Easter morning, I just felt
ordinary. Easter is the pinnacle of any preacher’s year. On this
Easter Sunday, I was sitting in the congregation feeling
discouraged and depressed. From my perspective, I had a
good reason. It was the end of the week when reality collided
with realism and the reality was overwhelming. My Passion Week started with an unexpected $904 cell phone bill and a less than pleasant conversation with a very talkative seventeen-year-old. Oh, and this was 2002 when you had cell phone plans that limited your calls. A day later, the heating and air conditioning unit died. Then I was notified of an increase in our car insurance premium. The list continues: an unsuccessful negotiation with a faceless pharmacist at my mail order pharmacy, the collection notice from a magazine I had not received in two years.
Then, to end the week, we received notification that an anticipated college scholarship for my “talkative son” was not going to happen. It was not a good week!
The devil knows the chink in my armor is financial and he had thrown a full-fledged assault at me during Passion Week. By the time Easter rolled around, I was spiritually, emotionally, and physically spent. For me, that Resurrection Day was anticlimactic, and I felt even worse for feeling that way. But in the quiet of my study early that Easter morning as I sat quietly recounting the rigors of the week, God reminded me of a great Easter truth: How I
felt had absolutely no effect on the fact that I belonged to Jesus. Because of the fact of His death and resurrection and my faith in Him, my feelings were irrelevant. I was a child of the King even when I did not feel like one. I rejoiced in the truth that my hope bloomed on the stem of faith and the root of face.
Occasionally, when the needle of reality deflates your spirit, remember this truth. There will be times when you do not feel like a child of God. In those times, remember that “by grace you are saved through faith. It is a gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Look at it this way. As a follower of Jesus, you travel through life like a train. The fact of Jesus’ death and
resurrection is the locomotive that drives the train. Your faith provides the fuel that powers that locomotive. Both are essential. Your feelings are like the caboose, useful at times, popular in some cultures, but not essential to reach your destination.
Even the most mature Christians will have bad days. When we yield to the pressures and the accuser whispers that real Christians do not feet that way, remember Psalm 103:14. “For He knows what we are made of, remembering that we are just dust.” Jesus understands our humanity. Rejoice in that fact and keep your faith regardless of how
you feel and God will help you emerge on the other side of trials with victory. Trust and obey.
