When You Feel Unmotivated

By: Jenifer Metzger

There are days I am productive. I wake up early, get ready, have my time with God, and then I get busy with super speed taking care of everything in my home. The laundry is washed, dried, folded, and put away. The dishes are done. There is not speck of dust in the house and the vacuum lines are perfect. My blog posts and social media posts are scheduled in advance. I end the night exhausted but feeling good about all I accomplished.

Then, there are days I am unmotivated. I struggle to get out of bed and I am slow to get ready. After my morning routine and spending time with God, I feel like I need a couch break. After far too long of reading or scrolling through Instagram, I toss a load of laundry in and pick up the house a little. Only to feel the magnetic pull of the couch once again. This little back and forth continues all day long. I go to bed feeling as though nothing was accomplished.

Can you relate?

So whether you eat or drink,

or whatever you do,

do it all for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

No matter what our days hold -household chores, climbing the corporate ladder, running children to and from activities, managing an office, caring for an elderly loved one, teaching children, or whatever responsibilities we have- we need to do it all for the glory of the Lord. When we set our eyes on Him and work for His glory, our tasks seem more manageable and purposeful.

Often we feel overwhelmed when we are more focused on our to-do list than God and often we feel under appreciated when we focus on what others want from us instead of God. When we work for the Lord, for His glory and to care for all He has entrusted to us in this season, we find the motivation to keep on keeping on and bring glory to Him.

When your motivation tank feels empty, fix your eyes on God. Thank Him for all He has given you and ask for His strength to take care of it.

Discussion:
1. Do you feel like you have more motivated days or  unmotivated days?
2. When you are facing those unmotivated days, what do you do to find motivation?

Names of God Series: Lion of Judah

 By: Rebekah Hargraves

Photo Courtesy of: Rob Potter

"Then one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep. Look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.'”

~Revelation 5:5

Last time in our names of God series we took a look at the name of Jesus, "Lamb of God". With a word like "lamb" in the title, we can sometimes mistakenly believe Jesus to be weak or merely meek as opposed to also being strong and mighty. With that being the case, it is good for us now to switch gears a bit and look at another of Jesus' names, "Lion of Judah", to course-correct and remind ourselves that Jesus is our victorious King, powerful and triumphant.

As we have often pointed out before, life is hard. This world is dark. Sin has cursed it, and we experience the repercussions in multiple ways every single day of our lives this side of heaven. Hope gets deferred, bodies break down, relationships fail, and more. Sometimes we struggle to feel as if our God is, in fact, victorious. But our feelings are not fact, and - praise the Lord! - this passage of Scripture we are looking at  today makes it abundantly clear to us that our God is, in fact, the conquering King, the One Who is ultimately and forevermore victorious, the God Who will put Satan in His place once and for all and reign victorious. 

So, friend, whatever you may be facing today, remember this: your God is the Lion of Judah. Whatever broken relationship you may be grieving right now, the Lord can restore. Whatever fear you may be harboring right now, the Lord can squelch. Whatever struggle you may be facing right now, the Lord can help you with. Turn to Him. He is your victory, and you can stop your weeping. <3 

Reflection Questions:

1) What trial are you facing right now that you need the Lord's help and strength for?

2) How is it a comfort to you today to know that your God is the Lion of Judah? What are the implications of that for you?

3) How can you encourage someone else with this truth today? 

Small Coins & Small Acts

 By: Joanne Viola

 

Pennies will no longer be produced and are basically being taken out of circulation. Seems all the tapping of credit cards is slowly making cash, or our coins, a little more difficult to use these days. The signs at the registers reminded me of a few other small coins.

One day Jesus was in the Temple,  

“And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.” 
(Luke 21:1, NASB)

It is what occurred next which is significant:

“And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins.” 
(verse 2, NASB)

The rich gave their gifts as did the poor widow. Scripture notes for us that hers were small yet they in no way went unnoticed by Jesus for the He states,

“And He said, 
“Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them … ”  
(verse 3, NASB) 

I have wondered if the small coins of the widow made a loud clinking sound as they hit the bottom of the metal treasury box.

Jesus further explained: 

“for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; 
but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.” 
(verse 4, NASB)

While some may have overlooked the small coins to get to the larger bills, Jesus overlooked the large bills to notice the small coins.

Maybe Jesus is wanting us to remember the small acts may be bigger than they appear.

We have opportunities before us each day, probably most of which we would consider “small”. But here’s the thing – one day we will stand before the Lord. We may then come to know He noticed the small.

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, 
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 
For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; 
I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; 
I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; 
I was sick, and you visited Me; 
I was in prison, and you came to Me.” 
(Matthew 25:34-36, NASB)

Some acts of service were so small, we didn’t pay attention while we were doing them. We will be scratching our heads and asking, “When?”

We will be amazed that the Lord even took notice of these small acts for we didn’t do any of them to be gain recognition.

Small coins and
small acts.
The eyes of our Lord is on the small.

 

Reflection:
Do you sometimes feel that the small things you do and give go unnoticed? Be encouraged today for our God sees the small.

 

Image by Miguel Á. Padriñán from Pixabay

 

Asking for the Small Things

By: Lauren Thomas 

I ask God for what I need when I’m struggling. I ask God for what I need when I’m faced with a situation that is bigger than my ability. I ask God for what I need when I am full of desperation. But I’m afraid that, from time to time, I forget to ask Him for the rest. 

 

I could convince myself that this is because I have faith that God will meet my needs.

 

But I’m afraid it’s something more insidious.

 

Entitlement.

 

Bear with me for a little story.

In the last two or so years, we’ve had some challenging vacations. One trip to Colorado involved one of our kids coming down with a virus and fever for a few days that seriously affected our plans. And over New Years we took a trip where both my husband and one of my kids ended up confined to a bedroom with flu, which then spread to the rest of the family and the family we were vacationing with. These are just the two worst experiences among others. But recently we had an incredible vacation! No one was sick, no one got sick, weather was beautiful, everything worked out smoothly. Driving home from this trip, my husband and I reflected that you can’t take a vacation like this for granted. 

 

And it hit me. 

 

I had been taking our vacations for granted. I felt that I deserved good, pleasant, smooth vacations, and that that was enough to result in having the vacations I wanted. But before this trip I had been humbled by our previous vacation experiences, so that I covered this one in prayers – prayer for good weather, prayer for health, prayer for God to restore us physically, mentally, and emotionally. 

 

I had asked. 

 

And God had given. 

 

The Father loves it when we ask. The Father loves it when we ask for the big things and for the small things. Because asking is correlated to humility and is opposite of entitlement. Asking, even for the small things, shows that we don’t feel entitled to any of the good gifts the Father gives us. Asking, even for the little things, shows that we don’t expect the good that we don’t deserve. 

 

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Matthew 7:7-11 ESV

 

Reflection:

Has an unhealthy entitlement ever crept into your relationship with God?

What do you need – big or small – that you could ask God for today?

How do you think a Good Father responds to our requests?

 

All Our Hearts, All Our Ways

 By: Joanne Viola

The verse was stuck under my skin for a few days. Turning back to the familiar words, I sit staring at them and wondering what am I to glean from them in this moment.

It’s a verse we lean on when we are facing challenges or decisions. It’s a prayer we offer up when choices are hard to make, and uncertainties loom before us.

Yet this particular morning, when not in the midst of decision making, it was thought provoking.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” 
(Proverbs 3:5-6, NASB) 

We so desire our paths to be straight. No detours. No delays. We know it is God alone who can make straight paths.

The words begin to stand out …

• “with all your heart.” We are to attach ourselves fully to God. It brings the idea there is a safety which comes from the attaching; a firm ground. There is a security found in God alone as we give Him all our heart.
• “in all your ways.” Instead of wanting our own way, we will search and out His will. Will we not depend on our own understanding, but patiently wait until He gives direction.

It is as we give Him all of our heart,
in all of our ways
that He will faithfully direct our paths each day.

 

Reflection: 
Upon reading the above verse, the question came: Is there a part of my heart that I am holding back? Is there an are of your life where you are resisting God? May God bring assurance to all our hearts that we can place our trust in Him because He is trustworthy.

 

 

Image by Michal Křenovský from Pixabay