How to Pursue God When You Don’t Feel Like It
By Drenda Keesee
You know the feeling.
The “I’ve slept four hours in the past two weeks, eaten whatever food got left on the table by my kids, and all I want is to take a shower and sleep. If I try to read my Bible, I’ll probably fall asleep” feeling. LOL!
I’ve been there! When you’re so overwhelmed with the business of life, it can be hard to find time for God. We all want to think that we can wake up at 5:00 a.m., spend the first couple of hours of our day with God, and walk in peace and love everyone all day long. But sometimes that’s not the reality. Sometimes you wake up to screaming children, are up late working, and can hardly find time to get a few minutes in with God.
I want to emphasize the importance of spending time with God. You might slip up some days, but it has to be a priority. How you spend your time is where your life will be headed. There are days we don’t feel up to it, but remember, He is our source!
So how do you refocus when you don’t feel like it?
- Spend five minutes in prayer.
- Read one chapter of the Bible.
- Turn on worship music.
Spend Five Minutes in Prayer
Prayer doesn’t have to be a long, complicated, drawn out process. You can spend five minutes in prayer to call out to God and He will meet you where you’re at.
The Bible tells us in 1 Chronicles 16:11, “Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.” This means in both high and low situations. If you don’t feel like spending time with God, try praying for a few minutes. He will meet you wherever you’re at!
Read One Chapter of the Bible
Reading the Bible can seem like a daunting task. Start slow, and try to read one chapter. The great news is, with technology today, you can read it on your phone, iPad, or laptop.
It doesn’t take long to read just one chapter, but it can have a big impact!
Sometimes as Christians, we feel the need to go into a deep study when we are reading the Bible, and while that’s great to do, it does not need to be done every time. God would rather you spend five minutes reading one chapter than none at all.
If it’s a chapter you’ve read 100 times or one you’ve never read before, some time with God is better than none at all. God wants your heart. He’s not worried about the technicality of how much time you spend with Him or how deep your Bible study is. If your heart is right in pursuing Him, He will meet you wherever you are at!
Turn on Worship Music
We constantly have noise coming at us in society. Whether it’s music, television, YouTube, or conversations with others, a lot of what we are hearing is negative. Turn on some worship music on your commute to work, even if it’s just one song, and rest in God’s presence. Worship music is available on most streaming services, so there’s no excuse not to listen. When you don’t feel like spending time with God, try listening to some worship music. Even if it’s just on in the background, it can make a difference.
The best part is, this doesn’t require anything active on your end. You can turn it on and listen. Try it once, and see how it can change your atmosphere!
I understand sometimes you don’t feel like pursuing God. Life gets busy and it gets tough. Start slow. Some days it’s a fight to pursue God, but I want to encourage you that it’s one worth fighting!
The longer you wait to start pursuing God, the harder it will become. You’ll get caught up in your own tendencies and doing things on your own. You can’t forget that you need God in all things. He wants to help you succeed in life and fulfill the purpose He has placed on your life.
I want to encourage you to seek after Him and refocus your mind-set even when you don’t feel like it!
~ Drenda
Are you looking for a good church? Be sure and listen on Saturday evening or catch the 3 services on Sunday for Faith Life Church!
Drenda Keesee’s contagious zeal and humorous personal experiences help make her ministry of spiritual, emotional and relational wholeness one that will bless your life and spark a new fire in your spirit.
A wife of over 30 years and a mother of five children, Drenda has ministered at churches, seminars, and conferences, and through the mediums of television and radio, for more than 20 years.
Her books, The New Vintage Family, Better Than You Think, and She Gets It are available wherever books are sold. In these heartfelt books, Drenda shares her personal journey and the life lessons that have brought her to where she is today, as well as practical answers that all people need to live a joyful life.
Drenda and her husband Gary founded Faith Life Now, a ministry designed to spread the message of freedom in the areas of finances, faith, marriage, and family. Tune in for their weekly messages here. Faith Life Now hosts conferences worldwide, and sponsors both Fixing the Money Thing, which Drenda co-hosts with her husband Gary, and Drenda.
Through their own life experiences, the Keesees have found the principles from God’s Word to be powerful and effective. At one point, Drenda was a young, suicidal feminist with no hope of ever being “good enough” for her own standards of perfection. She never wanted the “inconvenience” of a husband or children, and she was on her own path to success. But the stress of trying to achieve perfection and perform for love left her broken and used. She had success, but it was nothing compared to the pain and loneliness it had also brought.
That’s when God got a hold of her heart. It was there—at her lowest point—that she found the One who accepted and loved her, faults and all. Since that transformation, Drenda has had a passion to reach women who find themselves where she once was.
She married Gary after attending college, and there she found herself in a personal boot camp of sorts. She says, “I cried and told God, ‘I can do anything but be a wife and mother.’” She committed to learning how to do it God’s way. Through the many years of raising their children and struggling to make ends meet, Drenda learned from their mistakes. “I didn’t know how to be a wife and mother, but God saved our marriage, taught us how to parent our children for success, showed us how to have financial success, and then irony of all ironies, He called us to ministry.” It’s truly because of these life experiences that Drenda can now share so many insightful principles for people who are now going through the same struggles.
