Push Starting a Dead Spiritual Life
Push starting your life and becoming motivated to do the will of God can be done in many different ways. It’s incumbent upon us to find the way that works best for us. Jesus is the source of the power we need to get us through any situation in life. Not only is the power to navigate through this life successfully found in Jesus, but the power to get us out of the funk we find ourselves in from time to time is found in Jesus as well.
[pullquote]Let’s face it; sometimes it’s difficult to get motivated. It’s difficult to pray, study the Word, and be a “good Christian”. It’s difficult to even get out of bed some days. [/pullquote]
Let’s face it; sometimes it’s difficult to get motivated. It’s difficult to pray, study the Word, and be a “good Christian”. It’s difficult to even get out of bed some days. Recognizing that there is more than one way to get motivated to reach our objective of becoming more Christ-like can be key to getting past the dark clouds that may be lingering in our lives.
Back in the days when cars were a little less complicated than they are today, we could “push start” a manual shift car to get it started. To push start a car, all you had to do was place one person in the driver’s seat with the ignition switch in the on position, the clutch pedal to the floor, and the car in first gear. Then one or more people would literally push the car down the road. Once the car was rolling at a pretty good speed, the person behind the wheel would let the clutch out or “pop the clutch” and, the car would start. This method of starting a manual shift car forced the engine to turn over through an external force, in this instance the turning of the wheels.
Putting the key in the ignition and starting the car from the driver’s seat is the ideal. This is the way cars were made to operate. But push starting the car, although it takes a little more effort, yields the same end result….a car that’s running and able to transport you wherever you need to go. The ideal for Christians is to pray without ceasing. We should study and meditate in God’s Word. We should remain in a constant state of fellowship with the Heavenly Father. If you’ve maintained your spiritual engine, these things are not a problem for you.
But what happens to the Christian whose spirit is the equivalent of a dusty, dirty, and neglected old jalopy parked in the garage under a tarp? How in the world does this kind of Christian get motivated once again to become useful in the Body of Christ?
Push Starting Your Spiritual Life
The wonderful thing about our Heavenly Father is that He meets us where we are in life. He is our creator; therefore He knows how to reach us in whatever state we are in. Push starting your spiritual life could mean turning on the radio or popping in a CD and listening to some uplifting Christian music. Push starting your spiritual life could mean getting around positive people that are doing good things for the church or for the community. Push starting your life could mean getting your mind off of your situation and serving the poor. Maybe push starting your spiritual life means getting an accountability partner to help you get back on track. Your spiritual push-start could be listening to testimonies of how others have dealt with and overcome similar situations as the one you find yourself in. Your spiritual push-start could simply be spending a couple of hours in solitude in a different environment than what you’re accustomed to.
While prayer, meditation in God’s Word and direct fellowship with God (focusing on the inward man) can be looked upon as the equivalent of hopping into a car and starting is as is was made to be started, the above (outward focused) methods can be compared to push starting the car that won’t start on its own.
Most cars that haven’t been used for some time are difficult to start. In the natural world, we could climb into that beat-up old jalopy in the garage that hasn’t been started in years and pump the gas and turn the key for days and get no results. Or we could come to the realization that sometimes it may take a bit more to get us motivated for the things of God if we’ve been sidelined for a while.
In whatever way we choose to get motivated, the bottom line and the end result can lead to the same place and produce the same result in life. Getting inside the car and turning the key to start it, or push starting a car that hasn’t been used in a while can lead to a car, or spirit that is running, fully functioning, and able to glorify God in word, action, and deed.
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