If you are like me, life is just hard. Every day can easily just feel like another tiresome workout. Every Monday you wake up thinking, “Do I really have the strength to do this again?” If life is this hard and busy, how could we ever find the energy and motivation to desire to follow God’s calling, let alone actually follow him. If this is you, here’s three important keys to remember if you don’t have the energy to Follow God.
As You Follow God You Will Gain Energy and Motivation
Often times it’s hard to do things because we don’t have the energy. However, I’m sure there are things in your life that you always seem to find the energy for. These things don’t take energy, they give you energy because you love it. But, there are also things we love that end up sucking our energy away. For me personally, I’ve recognized this is true with watching TV or playing video games. The more I watch and play, the less energy I have and the less I want to do anything else.
The great thing is that God’s special calling for you will often times give you energy. The secret key is that when you take something you are passionate about and use that to help others, then your original excitement with that thing you love will mix with the thrill of knowing you are showing God’s love to others. Now, this might not work with every passion you have. If you love playing video games, then perhaps all you need to do is play video games with that guy who has no friends. However, if he doesn’t like playing video games, then making him do what you want wont be very loving, but rather a little selfish. Perhaps instead you should try fishing or hiking together.
Don’t be stubborn. You will need to go out of your way. Perhaps you’ll need to do something you don’t like too much to show God’s love to others. Whatever it is, just commit to it for one day, or even just half a day, and see if you have the energy to make it the rest of the week.
Following God will Give You Excitement and Enthusiasm for Life
If we are just trudging through life and hardly have the energy to do anything, it’s probably because we are bored and directionless. I can’t count the number of times I’ve found myself in a season like this. It’s like a black hole that just draws you deeper and deeper. As terrible as it might seem, the only way out is to do something to serve God or someone else. It may seem like the worst thing to do since you have no energy, but the more you step out to serve others, the more you will see life and people from God’s perspective.
God is life. He is the source of all energy. Surely he’ll grant us the energy we need to follow him. It may not be exorbitant amounts of energy every day, but he will at least grant just enough for us to keep going. I know this is true for my life. When I’m making big sacrifices to serve God, that’s when life feels the most vibrant. It seems as if everything is full of life and God is moving everywhere and in every way.
Follow God Because He Loves You and Has a Good Path
In the end, it doesn’t really matter how we feel. This life is not about us. If God only did what was easiest for himself and didn’t care about us, then we’d still be trapped in sin and this world would be pretty messed up. God went far out of his way to care for us. We didn’t deserve it, so how could we not play our part and show God’s love to others? I can understand not wanting to do as God says, sometimes it’s really hard, but we need to fight to stand up and do as God asks.
We shouldn’t obey God because we are told to; we should obey because we love God. Love is a powerful force, powerful enough to help us get into action. When we love God, we can’t help but to do what makes him happy. It’s our joy to please God. If we love God, we’ll also trust him, and the fact of the matter is that God has a plan for us that’s far better than anything we could possibly dream up. If we truly trust God, how could we not believe that he has the best plan for us?
My prayer is that we will all follow God out of joy rather than obligation. I’m also praying that our ministry will be the highlight of our week rather than a burden.
If you don’t know the calling God has for you, you might want to check out my blog: Discovering God’s Calling for Your Life
If you are trying to follow God, but he’s just not opening that door, then I hope you will be encouraged by my blog: One Important Reason Why God Might Make You Wait
