There are several factors in our lives that motivate us. They are mixed and many depending on our needs and desires. We may be a person who is motivated by external incentives like candy and treats when we were young and money or larger “things”  as we got older.  Some folks are intrinsically motivated meaning they enjoy the pleasure they feel from the act of accomplishing a task. Others are motivated by maintaining a positive self-image. They want to look good to other people and have others think highly of them. There are many more motivators I have not mentioned, but you get the picture.

What motivates you? What inspires you to want to move forward in your life?  Do you live by the motto, “He who dies with the most toys wins”? Is “Keeping up with the Jones’s” what spurs you to move forward?

What do you cling to in this life? I urge you to sit down and make a list of what motivates you and why? Check off the items that are “eternal” meaning they will last forever. If you are storing up treasures here on earth in this life, you will be very disappointed. You can’t take any of those earthly things with you and maybe those you leave behind aren’t interested in having them. What eternal purpose did they serve?

The “things” in life that we value may give us pleasure for a season, but they do not keep the emptiness within our souls filled.  God is the only one who can satisfy that void in our lives. If we satiate our lives with things of God, the things that are eternal, we will fill our lives with His peace and His living hope.  Hope is what we hang on to when everything else fades away. Hope gives us a purpose (a motivation) in our lives and we will find what we are looking for because we have the mindset of seeking out “things” of God.

Paul’s letter to the Romans in verse 15:13 tells us May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you might overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

May we be motivated by God’s unconditional love to serve Him and others as He has served us. Thanks be to God!

Patty