Motivational Mercies

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. Lamentations 3:22-23 (NLT)

As we wrap up the month of January, we have welcomed in a New Year and have embarked upon new goals. I thought this would be a good time to see what the Word has to say about staying motivated. In Lamentation, we see that God’s compassions are new every morning. Now, this is the kind of encouragement I need.

I love starting new things. I enjoy the energy that comes with a new project or endeavor. When we start out on our new thing, it is easy to be encouraged and determined to see this thing through to the end. It is normal for our determination and our self-discipline to be strong as we start.

I recently started a 40 day sugar fast. The first two days were a breeze, I was walking around humming praises to the Lord, and looking in the mirror, giving myself a wink with a “You got this girl” nod.

Then came the headaches, not just slightly annoying headaches, but debilitating headaches, the ones you can’t sleep through. My motivation started to slink out the back door.

Following the headaches came waves of fatigue. My get up and go, got up and went. I needed some of those New Mercies to drift in through the window and wake me from my slumber.

So, how do we stay motivated? The truth is, we can’t, at least not in our own might. Motivation is an emotion and emotions are fickle. If I only stayed away from sugar on the days that I FELT motivated and in the mood to do so, I would have slunk out the door with my motivation on day two and drove straight to Krispy Cream Donuts!

The prophet Jeremiah encourages us with the news that God’s mercies are new every morning!

I have identified three steps to staying motivated in my life and I hope that they are helpful to you also.

1. Be aware of when your motivation starts to slip. It usually happens at about the same time Temptation rings the doorbell delivering those Krispy Cream Donuts.
2. Turn to God. Either start praying, recognizing the strength we need to slam the door shut on Temptation will only come from God. Maybe worship music is your jam, crank it up and sing it loud and proud! But don’t rely on your feelings or emotions and be honest with yourself, you have a choice to make. (Sometimes I make Temptation a cup of coffee and have her stay for a chat, I am working on this!).
3. Be nice to yourself and show some gratitude. God is proud of you and it is ok to go back to that mirror and with a genuine smile, give God a nod and tell Him thanks for having your back, after all, that is what friends are for.

Motivational Mercies come from God and are not dependant on who we are or how we behave.

Let’s forget all this self-help stuff and instead seek out a real encounter with the living God. This will help us to trust in the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord and rely on His motivational mercies that are never ending.

A Warrior of Hope Stays Motivated

Heavenly Father, great is your faithfulness, and we love that we have your mercies fresh every day! Forgive me for thinking I could do this without you! I love that you are my friend and I love that you have my back as I struggle with my goals. In the name of the Living God, whose faithfulness I can trust in. Amen