Hello, I am a bit new to Christianity.  I feel really out of place in church and appreciate all the answers you've given so far.  I have read the Bible but don't fully understand it; I'm workin’ on it.  I had an experience with God where He showed me that He was real, and I started reading directly after that.  This question revolves around will.  After my first experiences with God, I felt a dramatic change in my life.  I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit, and I wanted to follow the rules to a tee.  I wanted to do God's will and have His will done through me.  I would've done just about anything, and I could strongly sense God controlling and leading my life.  He was presenting opportunities and challenges and speaking to me on a very normal basis.  This feeling slowly dwindled, and I don't know how to get it back.  Furthermore, to be quite honest, I don't really WANT to get it back.  At the present, I don't want to get close to God by doing His will, studying, or even praying sometimes.  I would rather do my own will.  I know it's wrong.  I know our relationship with God is the only thing on this world that really matters, but for some reason, I just don't really feel like doing it.

But I would like to feel like doing it because I know I should.  That was the single greatest feeling I've ever experienced, but for some reason (I don't really know why), I just don't seem to want it anymore.  Any suggestions?
Sincerely,
Not In The Mood

Dear Not In The Mood,

Our closeness to God isn’t defined by how close we feel to Him or by any personal revelation we think we receive… the Scriptures are our compass, not our emotions.  When the Bible was perfectly completed, all prophecy and individual revelations were done away with (1 Cor 13:9-10).  Paul told Timothy that he was approved by God when he rightly handled the Word of Truth (2 Tim 2:15).  Col 1:5 says that we have hope through the Word of God, and Eph 1:13 says we are sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit through the Gospel of salvation.

Many people wholeheartedly believe that they are pleasing to God but will be condemned on the Day of Judgment (Matt 7:22-23).  Feelings can be deceptive, but God’s Word is unchanging, unbiased, and able to rightly divide our lives and character (Heb 4:12).  If you want to know whether or not you are pleasing God, compare your life to the Scriptures.  “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Rom 10:17).”

It is very common for people to have an initial burst of enthusiasm when they first learn about Christ.  Matt 13:20-21 tells about the person that has an unrooted love of God – that is true for lots of folks.  The key for you is that you need to be different.  You need to put out the effort even when you don’t feel like it.  We are defined by what we do when it is hard, not when it is easy.

Part of your problem may be that you aren’t amongst a group of people that are feeding you the Word of God.  Many churches teach emotionalism but not Scripture, and that leaves you feeling defeated the first time things get difficult.  If you would like help finding a congregation near you that faithfully stands by God’s Word, feel free to e-mail us at askyourpreacher@etchurchofchrist.org, and we will help you locate one