Where's my drive?
Where’s my drive? Where’s my motivation? Where’s my inner push? I have this tendency to try to accomplish an unattainable to to-do list over the summers. Less is required of me right now. I’m not teaching kids, not lesson planning or grading papers. I’m not leading weekly Bible study or small group since we are on summer break. So why with less on my plate don’t I feel able to give that room to other areas of my life, to more writing, to more planning, to more preparing. Are the dog days of summer a real thing? Does the intense heat of summer actually equal less energy and motivation?
This summer my husband and I are studying the book of Daniel together with our 13 year old son (the 4 featured teenage boys of the story seemed a good group for us to learn from) and we’re using Beth Moore’s Daniel study to do it. We were challenged to memorize a segment of 4 verses. Here’s what I have so far, “Praise be to the name of God forever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes the times and seasons;” (Daniel 2:20-21a) For me to actually memorize a verse I have to say it over and over, think on it, chew on it, pray it, and believe it! That’s how this last phrase, “God changes the times and the seasons” stood out to me in a personal way. God created summer. He created the heat. He created the break and the rest.
Here’s what I’ve learned by looking back at life. God determines my seasons so if He gives me a rest, a catch your breath moment or season, and I don’t use it wisely then I have a harder time getting up the next mountain. In ten days my husband and I will lead 45 people on a family mission trip to the Navajo reservation in Arizona. Arizona has record heat right now. Might God know that canvasing the neighborhoods, doing kids camp out doors each day, and bringing encouragement to the women with a huge rally will require more energy. Might He hold back on giving us a motivation or a drive that would help us push harder so we might rest longer because He sees a mountain ahead we don’t see. That’s what I do as a parent. My kids wanted to stay another night with their cousins but after coming off church camp and a long weekend at the lake I knew they needed rest today if they were going to be able to enjoy the water park with cousins tomorrow.
I don’t know about you but I often feel down on myself when my push is gone. I think I’ve done something wrong to lose it or think I just need to dig deeper to find it. When I go into push mode when the spirit within me is definitely not empowering further movement or momentum and on the contrary is actually nudging me to take a breather and rest up; and I don’t do it, I pay for it later. The strong arm of the flesh trying to do or accomplish what God’s spirit isn’t empowering is really no strength at all.
This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
who rely on human strength
and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
in an uninhabited salty land.
“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.
Jeremiah 17:5-8
Hebrews 13:9 has this phrase I’ve been thinking on a lot lately, “your strength comes from God’s grace”. If I’m lacking a strength I need, it comes from leaning further into God’s provision and grace for me instead of trying to dig deeper inside of myself. When it’s something God wants done his grace will be there to make it happen. Maybe we need to enjoy summer break. Maybe putting our to do lists away for a bit to catch some rays or take a swim is the most productive thing we can do to prepare for what’s next.
2016/06/28 at 7:48 pm