Late one night, a man had gone to a party and had too much to drink, so he decided it would be best to walk home. He found a shortcut through a poorly lit cemetery and, in the darkness, stumbled into an open grave. He tried to climb out but the walls were too slippery. Again and again he fell back into the grave. Finally, in exhaustion, he settled in a dark corner to wait for sunlight.
A few minutes later, another man in the same condition was cutting through the cemetery and fell into the same grave. He, too, tried desperately to climb out, and was equally unsuccessful. As he was about to give up, he heard a voice from the darkness of his pit: "You may as well give up. You’ll never get out of here."
He did!
A little motivation can go a long ways! It can enable you to do things you never thought possible. The first pastor I worked for right out of Bible College drilled this concept into my young mind: success in life and ministry depends on being a self-starter! Don’t wait for someone or something to motivate you. Learn how to motivate yourself.
It’s like Paul told Timothy, “Stir up the gift of God which is in you” (2 Timothy 1:6). It’s in you. You just have to stir it up. Paul was telling Timothy to be a self-starter. He was saying, “If you sense your motivation diminishing, you are the one responsible to turn it around. If the spiritual embers of your soul are cooling, you must stir them up until they are hot again! Don’t blame your lack of motivation on anything or anyone else. You are responsible.”
So stir up the gift in you. Shake off that spirit of apathy and get passionate again. Get motivated and stay motivated. Don’t be a starter and a quitter. Be a starter and a finisher. It’s your job. No one else is going to do it for you. So get to work. Get motivated!
Pastor Todd Weston
A few minutes later, another man in the same condition was cutting through the cemetery and fell into the same grave. He, too, tried desperately to climb out, and was equally unsuccessful. As he was about to give up, he heard a voice from the darkness of his pit: "You may as well give up. You’ll never get out of here."
He did!
A little motivation can go a long ways! It can enable you to do things you never thought possible. The first pastor I worked for right out of Bible College drilled this concept into my young mind: success in life and ministry depends on being a self-starter! Don’t wait for someone or something to motivate you. Learn how to motivate yourself.
It’s like Paul told Timothy, “Stir up the gift of God which is in you” (2 Timothy 1:6). It’s in you. You just have to stir it up. Paul was telling Timothy to be a self-starter. He was saying, “If you sense your motivation diminishing, you are the one responsible to turn it around. If the spiritual embers of your soul are cooling, you must stir them up until they are hot again! Don’t blame your lack of motivation on anything or anyone else. You are responsible.”
So stir up the gift in you. Shake off that spirit of apathy and get passionate again. Get motivated and stay motivated. Don’t be a starter and a quitter. Be a starter and a finisher. It’s your job. No one else is going to do it for you. So get to work. Get motivated!
Pastor Todd Weston
