Some days, let’s just be honest, you don't feel it.
You wake up and almost immediately think, maybe I should just go back to bed. And I don’t mean because you're sick. I mean because your heart feels heavy, or your motivation is gone, or life just feels like a lot before the day has even really started.
I know that feeling.
And what helps me is remembering that people in the Bible knew that feeling too. The writer of Psalm 42 was clearly carrying something heavy. He knew worry. He knew discouragement. He knew what it was like to have to talk to his own soul and remind himself what was true.
Psalm 42:11 says, "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God."
That verse is really honest to me. He's not pretending everything is fine. He's asking his own soul, why are you so down? Why is there so much turmoil in you?
But then he doesn't stop there. He reminds himself where hope comes from.
Hope in God.
Sometimes I need that same reminder. I may not feel hopeful in the moment. I may not feel motivated. I may not feel strong. But my hope is not built on how I feel when I wake up. My hope is in God, who is still my salvation and still my God.
So if today feels heavy, maybe this is the prayer: "Lord, help me hope in You again. Remind my heart who You are, even when I don't feel it."