There are a lot of "good causes" in the world. Politics, careers, hobbies, friends, family....all demand attention and varying levels of fervor. And as Christians, we're called to work diligently as to the Lord in whatever we do ([Colossians 3:23-24][1]).

So what do you do if you "run out of gas?" If you wake up and feel like you have no more zeal to give? Everything seems numb, suddenly. You should be enthusiastic, but you're just not.

 

I don't have a formula to produce the mental, emotional, or spiritual octane. But I know that when that coldness hits, I need to check what had animated me to begin with.

What is it that moves me? What is my driving force, the motivation behind my thoughts and actions?

Is it the glory of God?

If it is, I should consider that God's rule hasn't come to an end just because I'm not feeling "up to it" that day. Scripture tells us over and over again that His mercy and love abound continuously to His redeemed:

Some wandered in desert wastes,

    finding no way to a city to dwell in;

hungry and thirsty,

    their soul fainted within them.

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

    and he delivered them from their distress.

He led them by a straight way

    till they reached a city to dwell in.

Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,

    for his wondrous works to the children of man!

For he satisfies the longing soul,

    and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

[(Psalm 107:4-9 ESV)][2]

And in Psalm 42, the psalmist feels this same "downcastness" of his soul:

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

    and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

    my salvation and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;

    therefore I remember you

from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,

    from Mount Mizar.

Deep calls to deep

    at the roar of your waterfalls;

all your breakers and your waves

    have gone over me.

By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,

    and at night his song is with me,

    a prayer to the God of my life.

[(Psalm 42:5-8 ESV)][3]

Even in Lamentations (a book named mournfully), we find this:

Remember my affliction and my wanderings,

    the wormwood and the gall!

My soul continually remembers it

    and is bowed down within me.

But this I call to mind,

    and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

    his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness.

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,

    "therefore I will hope in him."

The LORD is good to those who wait for him,

    to the soul who seeks him.

It is good that one should wait quietly

    for the salvation of the LORD.

It is good for a man that he bear

    the yoke in his youth.

[(Lamentations 3:19-27 ESV)][4]

If our lives are animated by full assurance in our God's goodness, we can run to Him and find joy. The Lord is our portion; let us hope in Him.

[1]: http://esv.to/Colossians 3:23-24/ [2]: http://esv.to/Psalm 107 [3]: http://esv.to/Psalm 42 [4]: http://esv.to/Lamentations 3