What is our inspiration for 2021? What is going to motivate us to move forward in these challenging times? We might feel like all we’ve been doing for the past year is reacting to what is going on around us. However, for 2021 to be different we have to prayerfully set a path for where God wants us to go and what He wants us to do. This approach will help us restore purpose and direction. For this to happen we have to find our inspiration.
Maybe we should start by watching all the Rocky movies. There is nothing like seeing an underdog fight his way to victory. If Rocky can do it, so can I, right? While that might pump us up and inspire us in the short term, I don’t think it’s going to be enough to have a lasting impact.
If we are going to figure out what will inspire us, we need to know what it means to be inspired. Here are two definitions.
The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.
A sudden brilliant, creative, or timely idea.
-The divine influence believed to have led to the writing of the Bible.
When I first thought of this topic I was focused more on what would motivate us, which would be closer to the idea of being mentally stimulated, but then when I was reminded of divine inspiration I realized that as believers our inspiration should be a hybrid of the two. While none of us are going to be inspired to write a book of the Bible, we can be greatly influenced by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us an idea that not only stimulates us mentally, but also stirs our hearts.
The Holy Spirit plants a seed in our hearts. He gives us a passion for the things of God. Often that passion has a specific focus. It could be anything, a passion for children, for worship, for the poor, for those neglected, for sharing the gospel, etc. We might find our thoughts going in that direction. The topic might always seem
to come up in our conversations. It’s up to us to nurture that passion, to follow God’s lead. We will want to learn and grow in our understanding of what God is asking us to do and most importantly act on that passion.
As we approach 2021 we find our inspiration by focusing on the passions God has given us, we might have to work around circumstances, but God is able to take us beyond them. 2021 doesn’t have to be more of the same, instead it can be a year where we see much accomplished for the glory of God because we live inspired lives.
