It’s difficult to live for Jesus. Everything in this world conspires against you. You want to serve well and follow in His footsteps, but the cares and circumstances of this life keep getting in the way. Nowhere is this more evident than when you attempt to put some spiritual disciplines into your life. It seems as soon as you set the alarm clock for an hour earlier in order to pray and study, some crisis hits that finds you getting to bed two hours later than planned.
When the alarm clock goes off the next morning, you quickly rationalize your way through hitting the snooze button a few dozen times. You have lost your motivation as quickly as you had found it. I am convinced the problem is you don’t know your why; your “why” is the reason you do what you do.
Unless you have a big enough “why”, you will constantly find your motivation coming and going as frequently as the wind. Your “why” has to be strong enough to overcome the distractions, problems, and temptations Satan will throw in your path. Too often we are confounded by how we will overcome an obstacle. The details overwhelm us and we throw in the towel. Your “why” is the key to getting past whatever is in your way. As I once heard someone say, “When you know your why, you can endure any how.” In other words, your “why” must be big enough to dwarf any details standing between you and the accomplishment of your “why”.
For any person desiring to be a true disciple of Jesus, I think your “why” really comes down to three things: to honor Christ, to obey God, and to live out your purpose. Everything we do in life should be to honor Him; every thought, word, and action should glorify Him. There is no part of your life that should not radiate and exemplify Jesus. When your life is devoted to Him, you will desire nothing more than living in obedience to God. You will want to please Him by doing the things He told you to do. He is our master and we are His slaves. What He says, we must do because of our love and devotion to Him, and because of His love and devotion for us. When we are focused on glorifying and obeying Him, we will begin living out His purpose in our lives.
When you are tempted to abandon a commitment you made to Jesus, remember your “why” is to glorify and obey Him so His design for you might be manifested in your life. If you want to live a completely fulfilling and satisfying life, you must live the life He created you to live. This is accomplished only by first loving and obeying Christ. When we have those two pieces in place, the third will follow automatically. You can’t walk in lock-step with God and not fulfill the purpose for which He created you. The key is to know your why. Stay focused on Him and remember He is why you do everything you do.