Motivating Truth

I kept telling myself I was doing something I loved to do. It just didn’t feel like it anymore.  I tried to psych myself up by reminding my mind and heart of all the positives I got to enjoy: I loved the opportunity to be creative, I loved who I spent my time with, I loved the camaraderie with others doing the same thing, I felt mentally challenged and I wanted to be successful. But I was exhausted.  I often found myself scrolling Pinterest for motivational quotes…

“Winners are not people who never fail, but people who never quit.”  ~Edwin Louis Cole

“Nothing is impossible.  The word itself says I’m Possible.” ~Audrey Hepburn

“Self-confidence is a super power. Once you start to believe in yourself, magic starts happening.” ~unknown

Have you been there?  Have you ever scrounged for just the right phrase that would lift your attitude and your belief above the muck you found yourself stuck in?  As a believer in Jesus I live in this tension where the world says I am to be confident that I am enough; the Bible says apart from God I can do nothing (John 15:5). The world tells me I find my value through how I match up to others; God’s Word says my value is found in Him.  He says I am precious to Him, I am honored and He loves me (Isaiah 43:4). 

As Christians, we live in this struggle to balance living in this world without allowing the world to shape who we are.  It’s hard to decipher what to believe about ourselves, our dreams and our potential.  How do we go about stretching ourselves to achieve the goals God has placed in our hearts?  Where do we find the well of motivation to keep us striving to do what we believe God has called us to do whether it is raising children, holding down a full-time corporate job, investing in our neighbors, opening our homes as a place of encouragement, creating an empowering online presence, teaching a weekly Bible class, caring for an elderly parent, or doing several things at one time?

There are three scriptural truths that I am learning to lean into.  They do more than motivate me, they ground me.  They provide a solid foundation so that I can decipher truth appropriately.  The first scripture is Proverbs 28:26, “The one who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.” (CSB) God’s word clearly tells us not to blatantly trust our own perceptions and point of view.  Our ideas can easily be skewed or downright selfish.  Instead we are to walk in wisdom.  To me that means spending time in God’s Word, learning what God says is significant.  Walking in wisdom includes intentionally seeking to know God more and aligning myself with His character.  It’s good to study scripture for insight into a problem or conflict, and we need to remember that gaining knowledge isn’t the only thing. Building our relationship with God is always the ultimate goal.  The deeper one’s intimacy is with Christ, the easier it is to hear and follow the wisdom He reveals.

The second truth is found in 2 Corinthians 3:5, “It is not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.” (CSB) Each of us has gifts and abilities that make us shine.  Others tell us how good we are at this or that.  The truth we need to remember is that God is the source of whatever strength we call ours.  There is a song by Christian musician, Ronnie Freeman, called “The Only Thing.”  In the chorus of the song he repeats the phrase “the only thing that’s good in me is Jesus.”  None of us are competent in ourselves.  Each of us needs Jesus.  Sometimes I find myself putting expectations on myself thinking I ought to be able to do a-b-c or handle x-y-z.  Perhaps I’ve done the exact thing many times before, or maybe I’ve come to think I’ve been a Christian long enough I should know what to do.  In those moments I need to humble myself and recall this truth: my adequacy is from God.  Whatever we do, whatever we may accomplish, it is God achieving and not ourselves. 

The third truth is from Psalms 138:8, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.  Lord, your faithful love endures forever; do not abandon the work of your hands.” (CSB)  Wherever God has placed us, whatever God has laid on our hearts to accomplish, God will fulfill His purpose.  I often have to go back over truths one and two to double check that I am living God’s purpose and not my own.  When I’ve squeezed in too much of my own thoughts and ideas, or I am trying to do too much in my own strength, I’ve stopped looking for what God wants to do in me, through me and for me.  The Bible doesn’t say God will be faithful to give us the life we’ve imagined will be purposeful.  The Psalmist affirms that God will accomplish what He sets out to do.  We can trust that God always chooses what is best; He is faithful and He never fails. 

A Pinterest worthy inspirational quote is good now and then.  In each one I’ve read, there is a nugget of truth.  And we need to continually be conscious that we can’t trust what we think, our adequacy is always found in God alone, and we need to be focused only on God’s purposes. We each need to base our motivation on the truth of God’s Word, relying on His wisdom and His truth so that we are not led astray, and we are able to keep living the life He longs for us to live.