Lost value regained in the new year

Outward loss has the power to eliminate inward motivation

There are two things to consider in 2021 if you want to know God better and find love, joy and peace in the new year.

First, are you motivated to be the best that you can be? Second, do you see great value in what you do on a daily basis?

When we are counselling people who have experienced great loss, there is also a great loss in their motivation to move forward and get on with life. They don’t want to go out, answer the phone, keep themselves tidy, make plans for the future, and they avoid as much as possible any interaction with others.

The loss could have been a death of a loved one, an unwanted divorce, a child hooked on drugs, the loss of a job, a serious health issue or the kinds of loss that we have all faced living with COVID-19.

What we need to understand is our outward loss also has the power to rob us of our inward motivation to move forward and the value we find in living.

After a while we can no longer be dealing with only the outward loss but that loss has somehow been able to reach down inside of us and steal our motivation and messes with our value system.

Why be motivated to get out of bed in the morning if there is no value in what you are going to do that day?

I never saw this before but motivation and value are like our two feet. We are motivated by what we feel has value and the value that we find motivates us to do more. Step by step we’re moving forward in life by being motivated to do better as we strengthen our healthy value system.

The question is not have we suffered a natural loss in this past year but what do we need to do to kick-start our motivation value engine to run again?

Jesus said to His followers in Matthew 7: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”

Jesus said it would take a storm to reveal where you have built your house. It would take a loss of something around you to see where you lacked faith within you. It’s only when all is stripped from beneath you that we can tell if you’re standing on solid ground.

Yes, into every life a little rain must fall and at times we will face a storm or two. It’s true that we have all suffered some common ill effects in life but the good news is we can build new hopes and dreams for a better future if we choose to build our lives on the solid rock Christ Jesus.

You can be motivated to reach higher, to help others and to be a better you. The government may see the problem and offer a stimulus package stuffed with money while God sees our need and asks us to cast all of our cares upon Him.

Proverbs 13:12: “Hope deferred (delayed or withheld for a season because of a storm) makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”

Church may have had to deal with change and cancellations but no one can cancel God out of your life and His ability to hear you when you pray. My confidence in you is high as you build your house upon the firm foundation of having your faith in the Lord Jesus.

May the new year be filled with new hopes and dreams of a brighter future for you and your family. I pray for you all to be highly favoured and richly blessed as we walk together into the sunshine of tomorrow.

May your faith be stirred and your hope be strong.

God bless you all.