Have you ever been stuck in a slump? You know, that feeling when you’ve been hit with a wave of numbness — no spark, no drive. Sometimes it’s the result of being stressed, anxious, or depressed. Other times, you have no idea where it came from. And then, occasionally, the culprit is just sheer laziness. Regardless of what led you to feeling or being stagnant, one truth remains: Anything truly worth having, a life truly worth living, demands something from us.

Good health does not come on the wings of wishful thinking but is forged through the healthy decisions we make day in and day out. Wisdom and intellect don’t suddenly appear after doom-scrolling all day — they’re engrafted slowly and carefully through good books, deep conversations, and challenges that refine our understanding of the world around us. Mature marriages and profitable parenting are the results of thousands of acts of self-sacrifice. If you want to make a difference in this world, please God, or make the ones you love proud, you’ll have to put in the work. Fruitfulness is the product of effort and discipline.

Neglect, on the other hand, requires no calendar, no resolve, no ransom. Debt accumulates, skills deteriorate, relationships cool, and spiritual drift without us even having to try. You don’t have to choose mediocre. Simply do nothing, and mediocrity will choose you.

Consider 1 Corinthians 9:24-27: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” Here, Paul gives us an equation: discipline equals fruit, and that discipline is crucial to this race of faith. Yet, countless believers treat God’s grace as though it were a cosmic exemption from effort. And sadly, many others don’t even think in terms of grace, simply allowing the “I don’t feel like it” mindset to dominate their lives.

A correct understanding, however, shows us how faith exposes the lie that good things can be passively received. The very nature of a race is that it’s hard. It requires training. It quite literally cannot be done if we aren’t willing to get up and go. So, the question is, what do we do when we “don’t feel like it”? What do we do when we don’t feel anything?

First, we let Scripture remind us that God is not shocked by our weakness. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26). “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Isaiah 40:29). “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). We have a High Priest who was tempted in every way we are — yet never caved (Hebrews 4:15). The gospel is good news precisely because God already factored our frailty into the rescue plan. He knows, He’s near, and He’s kind.

And yet, His goodness does not lower the standard. Rather, it elevates us toward it. After we’ve soaked in His comfort, we stand up, wipe the dust from our feet, and we take the next step anyway. We remember that emotions are terrible masters but wonderful servants.

There will be times when you feel you can’t go on, or when you don’t know how. That is when you lean on your faith, trusting that God is bigger than your hiccups, and knowing that He has purpose for your life. There will be times when you lack motivation. That is when you lean on discipline, saying, “I may not feel it, but I choose it.” God’s grace is a beautiful, life-anchoring reality for those who put their faith in Him. It’s not our genie in a bottle. It’s not our wish upon a star. It’s not the elimination of effort. No, it’s the empowerment of effort. Grace is the wind in the sails, not the withdrawal from the voyage.

Grace is free, but discipline is costly. The first is a gift, and the second is our grateful, lifelong response. If we wait until we “feel like” reading the Bible, praying, serving, forgiving, or obeying, we will wait forever. So, when you don’t feel like praying, pray for sixty seconds. When you don’t feel like reading, read one paragraph. When you don’t feel like serving, do the smallest act of kindness in front of you. Love, even when it’s hard. The muscle of discipline is strengthened by use, not by intention. Spiritual formation, like physical fitness or musical mastery, is built on the mundane — when desire is absent, but determination remains. Prioritize the discipline, don’t compromise on obedience, and, more often than not, the feelings eventually follow.

Yes, you will feel stuck sometimes. But Isaiah 40:31 gives us hope: “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Wait on Him. Cast your burdens at the foot of the cross. Rest in His embrace. After all, He is with you now, even if not yet in full. But that is why, eventually, you must get up and keep going. Because, as Paul reminds us, we are running a race of faith, and that finish line is in glory, where your Savior is waiting for you.

The late Thomas Watson described time as “a precious commodity.” So, he urged, “Make spending your time a matter of conscience. … Many people fool away their time, some in idle visits, others in recreations and pleasures which secretly bewitch the heart and take it away from better things. What are our golden hours for — but to attend to our souls? Time misspent is not time lived but time lost!”

If you’re going to dedicate your precious time to stewarding anything, may it be your faith and service to God. Paul did “it all for the sake of the gospel,” and we should too (1 Corinthians 9:23). Say now when your heart says later. Flee when the enemy entices you to laziness. And fix your gaze on things above, where Christ, your biggest supporter, greatest friend, and gracious King, is continually cheering you on. And if He is for you, who can be against you?