What do you do on the days you just aren't feeling it?

Over the past 1 1/2 years, there have been maybe 15 days where I am unsure of what to do...On most days there is motivation from moderate to excited... They are not days where I become double minded and think the long journey was wrong...It is just times where I feel like gray....No bad thoughts come about yet I feel odd for not fully knowing why this feeling is present,,,,,I sometimes try and sleep it off or put music on but even that sometimes fails to lift my spirits...What is odd is that a usual negative thought precludes a negative or odd emotion and it doesn't.

Can anyone relate?

Maybe it is the universes way of balancing it all out....I know we need rain to enjoy the sun and darkness to enjoy the light.

Anything?

Only 15 days? I would count yourself as blessed.

PS. 4:4.
Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

learning how to use our warm/safe place in Christ daily can be a challenge at best,
this is something that the world can never give us, it is truly a bless-ed gift, one well worth practicing -

in Christ we don't always have to be out 'doing something', our goal is to find contentment in our
relationship with Him, in any and all situations...

I think everyone goes through these days. When I have these kinds of days, I usually feel better if I do something that I enjoy, even if I don't feel like it. Usually someone talks me into it. Maybe God sends them.

But I agree with oldethenew. You don't need to always be doing something. Your body and mind have times when they just need to rest.

***To be, or not to be...That is the question.
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles...
That flesh is heir to...

i notice you have recently gotten saved. Praise God.

I have been depressed all my life really, in the sense that nothing "regular" has never excited me. This was from as early on as I could remember. [If anyone here identifies with that, hit me up and I will give you some practical advice to AVOID the pitfalls and street life that I fell for, in search of something exciting]

What I do on days like that is I pray, and i FORCE myself to lift weights. Its hard to "start" things in that state, but when you start you will get it done.
This usually gets me feeling better again. Motivational quotes help, especially the biblical ones, the moral of the story is: put your hand to the plow and DONT LOOK BACK. Keep going. Go go go go. Just do it. Consider it a war of a spiritual kind.

One thing to also remember is that its not about FEELINGS, its about FACTS and TRUTH. We may not always 'feel' good, but we still keep on going

it's not about being on an emotional high all the time

have you ever read Ecclesiastes? 'the heart of the wise is in the house of morning' and 'that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor -- this is the gift of God' ((Eccl. 7:4, 5:19))

something isn't necessarily wrong when you don't feel elated or something. having satisfaction and enjoyment in this life isn't a prerogative, it's a blessing, when you do - a gift given by God. Solomon says sorrow is better than laughter because a sad countenance is good for the heart ((Eccl. 7:3)) -- why?

that's very counter-intuitive, the opposite of what the world says. the world says, there's something wrong with you if you feel down and grey, and it says you need to take pills to keep a smile on your face and you need to take psychotherapy to train your mind not to have depressed or sad thoughts. but Solomon says, it is good to have sorrow, good to mourn, good to be depressed -- good for your heart.
why??
maybe, because if you are contemplative in this you learn wisdom and see the difference between good and evil, and glorify God. maybe when you feel grey, you think about deeper things, and seek joy, and seek understanding. maybe when you're bubbly and glad, you don't really seek God or try to understand, as much as you do when you feel misery and 'blah' -- because when you feel this way, you look for God to help you, but when you feel great, you don't feel like you need Him to help you as much.. ?
not saying i have this sorted out. it's a deep, marvelous thing. something to explore.

some people kind of dismiss Ecclesiastes as being from a completely worldly perspective and say it shouldn't be taken literally, doesn't really apply to the believer. but i think, um, this is the wisest man who ever lived, and he is no stranger to God. it's not so simple. i shouldn't expect it to be simple; i should expect it to be extremely complex and challenging.

i'm not suggesting we should be all goth and dreary all the time -- Solomon also has a lot to say about how good gladness and satisfaction is, how it is to be desired and cherished -- but he points out that it is the gift of God. it is useful to understand that it is in His hand to give, not ours to hold

what i am suggesting is that the point of view that something is *wrong* if we're not smiling all day every day, is worldly. it is not ((IMO)) the picture the Bible presents -- for life in this world -- so i wanted to express that you shouldn't be 'depressed about sometimes being depressed' if that makes sense

'don't feel bad about feeling bad sometimes'

there's a Christian goth group, 'Leper' that i love

he made an album several years ago called 'Beautiful Gray Day' that really suits those sorts of times

here's a song for you, from it

My brother from another mother done did it again! Great post, very insightful and TRUE.

Dont let the world tell you whats what!

Rest and worship

Because we are in this body of flesh, as Paul said, "We have not been perfected yet (Philippians 3:12-13)," and because we have a enemy within and a enemy without (the world, the flesh, and the Devil), you can still get tired of trusting. This is why the scripture says:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1

Example:

And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. Exodus 17:11

Amalek was to dwell in the land, but not to reign in it. Romans 6:12 says, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies." The command would be unmeaning if the sin nature were not existing in the Christian. The sin nature dwells in a Believer, but dwells and reigns in an unbeliever.

The hands "upheld" signified total dependence on the Lord. When the Believer is totally depending on the Lord, and what He did for us at the Cross, the victory of Christ belongs to us; otherwise, it doesn't!

Exodus 17:12 says, "But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun."

(The "Stone," as well, is symbolic of Christ. Moses exhaustion portrays the fact that our own efforts soon result in spiritual burn-out. But once we are in God's glorious way [sitting on the Stone], the victory is ours. "Aaron" was a Type of Christ as our Great High Priest, and "Hur," whose name means "light," speaks to us of the Holy Spirit. This is the help afforded the Child of God. But unfortunately, most Christians are trying to hold up their hands [trusting in God] by their own personal strength, which is doomed to failure.)

The Holy Spirit doesn't require much of us, but He does require one thing, and without reservation. Our Faith must be exclusively be in Christ and the Cross, understanding that this is God's Prescribed Order of Victory. When we stay "victory" we are speaking Victory in every capacity, be it spiritual, financial, domestically, physical, etc. God's Prescribed Order of Victory is "the Cross of Christ."

The Way Of The Spirit
Focus: The Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6)
Object Of Faith: The Cross of Christ (Romans 6:1-14)
Power Source: The Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-2, 11)
Results: Victory (Romans 6:14)

Man's Way
Focus: Works.
Object Of Faith: Performance.
Power Source: Self.
Results: Defeat!

The only way to God is through Jesus Christ (John 14:6)...the only way to Jesus Christ is by the Means of the Cross (Luke 14:27). The only way to the Cross is a denial of self (Luke 9:23). If any person tries to come any other way, Jesus says, "they are a thief and a robber" (John 10:1).

Exodus 17:13 says, "And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword." (The "sword" here is a Type of the Word of God [Eph. 6:17]. The Word of God holds the answer to every single problem which pertains to "Life and Godliness" [2 Peter 1:3-4].)

JSM

You’ve received some great counsel on this thread.

One thing I’ll add and I try to remind myself of this....

We’ve been indoctrinated by the world on what happy looks like, all the tv ads, social media post only showing the good life, self help teachers, “free spirit” propaganda saying do what feels good. This can leaving us feeling behind the 8 ball in life if our day to day lives don’t reflect this fairytale.

The joy of the Lord is not always an emotional feeling it’s the joy and peace of having eternal security and knowin we serve the King of kings!

JSM = "Jimmy Swaggart Ministries"

just an FYI for anyone reading, MOTC's post isn't his own words. he's copy-pasted something from a Jimmy Swaggart book here.
to me, putting JSM at the bottom of the post isn't all that clearly indicating that this is all a quote from some other source, not the original words or thoughts of the person who posted it -- so especially for newer members who most likely aren't going to realize what it is they're seeing, i feel like it's good to point that out.


@MessageOfTheCross i'm not immediately seeing the pragmatic usefulness or relevance to what i think the OP is asking about -- is this quote from 'what if i feel blah' chapter of some Jimmy Swaggart book or is this quote's actual context about a different topic?

Rest and worship...and read the Bible.

I have those days too, and sometimes they even grow into what feels like a never ending episode. You know where you try and read the Bible and only end up feeling like you are just reading texts from a book and when you pray you feel like your prayers are not going past the ceiling of your room. The feeling of emptiness. Totally relate 😔

When I feel that way, I go out to serve others and then I feel better. Also, exercise helps.