Where's my Motivation

Usually when I think about motivation I think of scenarios that involve getting myself up and going.  Maybe it's my house that needs cleaning, my laundry that needs doing, my body that needs exercising... you know, the whole "I've got to find my mojo" kind of thing.  

Today however, Chris brought up a new way of thinking about motivation in life.  

Chris is in a leadership training program at work, and so far has really enjoyed it.  Today they talked about goals; setting goals, sticking with goals, realizing goals, failing at them and why all these things happen.  Pretty interesting stuff. They gave 3 different things that you must have when setting and achieving a goal: Motivation for setting it, tracking your goal (hello Weight Watchers!) and I think the 3rd was reward but I can't remember for sure.  Chris and I talked about the motivation one and that's what has gotten me thinking all night.

There have been things in life that I have set out to do and have done... a few things very good I might add.  When I look at those things I am sorry to say that I can see a common denominator in most of those... fear.

I know... something like perseverance, faith, trust, love of my family ect.  would have sounded so much better.  Unfortunately, I am very often  motivated by fear.  Afraid of not being accepted if I don't do a good job, afraid of people not liking me, afraid of losing someone's approval of me, the list goes on.   Sadly, I can even see areas of parenting where I have made decisions based out of my own fears and maybe not the best decision I could have made.

So tonight I ask myself, where does that leave me?  

I keep coming back to trying to figure out where the Lord would want my motivation in life to come from.  It's not from my desire to be a good wife, a good parent, a good daughter or a great friend. My motivation in life can't even come from my desire to be a good Christian.  My motivation can come only from the Love I experience from my Father in Heaven and my desire to honor him in all I do.  In all else, fear easily gets entangled, but in His love... there is no fear.

So tonight I pray that I will be good wife, mother, daughter, friend, and follower of Jesus Christ because He loves ME and because I want my hearts desire to be honoring Him.  That takes so much pressure and anxiety off of me.  Honoring Him with my talents and gifts is what I want to motivate me in every endeavor or goal I set in life.  I have a sense of new found freedom in this... I want to live in that place. Lord, help me live there.

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.