Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. - Hebrews 10:23-25

I don’t know about you, but I need motivation to do much of anything. This morning, I got up early to go for a run. You know what motivated me to get up at 6:45am on a Saturday morning? Accountability. I had already made plans earlier in the week to meet at a friend’s house and go run down by the beach. 

Now, I wasn’t without excuses for reasons I might not be able to make it — for one, I went to bed way too late. Second, I couldn’t find my running shoes (they were still packed up in a bag from our Thanksgiving vacation!) And lastly, it started drizzling as soon as I got in my car (as evidenced by this splotchy picture of the beautiful sunrise I was trying to capture!) 

But I made a commitment. And my commitment was motivated by the desire to work on strengthening my physical health in a community of like-minded friends. 

Church is not that much different, when you think about it. Except the goal of the church is to strengthen our spiritual health and is, arguably, more important. 

I believe God is doing something HUGE in the Church right now to really strip away all the fluff and get us back to what is most important. 

For those of us who are still willing to risk meeting together, in a pandemic, it’s because we TRULY believe we are better together than alone. This has to be our only motivation. And this will be evident to the world by the way we spur each other on to acts of love and good deeds.

And if you are vulnerable or unable to meet in-person, there are still creative ways to connect to a local body of believers. Make a plan to watch online. Chat in the comment section. Text a friend a prayer request or call to share some encouragement. But, make the commitment!

Just as none of us are born marathon runners, we’re also not born with the strength to withstand the spiritual battle that is 2020.

Take care of your spiritual health, friends. 🤍