Sometimes Ya Just Gotta Act Your Way Into Feeling

I want to brush my teeth.

Nobody has to remind me. I don’t have sticky-notes on my mirror telling me to do it.

I don’t need a “brush your teeth” iPhone alarm prompting me.

My mom doesn’t call to ask if I’ve brushed them yet.

Occasionally, I will spend the night somewhere and forget to pack my toothbrush. That really messes me up. I try my best to do the finger and fingernail toothbrushing thing—but it’s just not the same. I don’t feel right until I finally get a toothbrush and brush my teeth.

Brushing my teeth is a healthy habit, a regular routine, a daily discipline.

I don’t even have to think about it anymore. It “just happens.”

But it wasn’t always like that.

There was a time when only my parents cared about my teeth getting brushed.

If they didn’t make me, it would not happen.

At some point, I began to realize that brushing my teeth is kinda important.

There was a transition period—moving from parent enforcement to me being responsible for it.

At first, I didn’t really feel like brushing my teeth. I forgot to do it, often. I needed to be reminded and nagged.

Eventually, after just doing it for a long time, things changed—I felt like brushing my teeth. I wanted to do it.

Not all healthy habits begin with warm, fuzzy feelings.

Sometimes, ya just gotta act your way into feeling.

Most people do the opposite: they feel their way into acting.

So many people are waiting until they “feel it.”

When they feel it, they will read their Bible.

When they feel it, they will worship.

When they feel it, they will serve.

When they feel it, they will give.

As a result, they’re roaming around like a 12 year old with stinky breath and nasty teeth (spiritually speaking).

Healthy habits, regular routines, and daily disciplines generally start out with acting on them, not feeling them.

Eventually, we do feel them and we don’t need reminders or prompts or sticky-notes or nagging to keep us going.

Just like I don’t want to go a day without brushing my teeth, I don’t want to go a day without spending time with God. I want to read my Bible. I want to worship. I want to serve. I want to give. I want to be involved in my church.

I feel it…

But truthfully, some of those disciplines only began in my life because I acted on them—not because I felt it first.

Sometimes, ya just gotta act your way into feeling.

“…make praise your habit.” (Psalm 64.10 MSG)