Inspiration – The prompting of the mind to exalted thoughts, to creative activity, also , a quality of a thing that shows creative activity.
(Oxford Dictionary)
Inspiration is the beginning of all the work that we do. Without inspiration we will wander aimlessly through life and never fulfill the intent of God. He created us with meaning and purpose. We all have trouble finding that meaning and purpose, but when we do we are motivated beyond our imagination. Let me share a story that I adapted from sermons.com.
During World War II, Winston Churchill as Prime Minister was traveling around his country. He was trying to motivate and inspire his fellow citizens. He was willing to go almost anywhere to encourage people in the war effort. He would, of course, always visit the troops. But he also visited those who worked on the farms and in the factories. He knew that the odds against them were great, and that he must continue to help keep the morale high.
There was one group he had not yet seen. It was the coal miners. Someone asked him if he would be willing to see these men, who spent most of their time below the ground in such dangerous conditions. One man told Churchill that the miners did not feel that they were doing very much in the war effort. He said that no one ever gave them any credit for the work that they did. Would he visit them, he asked. The Prime Minister told the man that he would be pleased to visit these men.
When Churchill visited the coal miners they were absolutely amazed that he was there. They could not believe that he would come to see them. All they could do was to stare with their dirty faces at the man who would lead Britain to victory. His words will never be forgotten by those who heard him on that day. “We will be victorious!” he said. “We will preserve our freedom. And years from now when our freedom is secure and peace reigns, your children and your children’s children will come and they will say to you, ‘What did you do to win our freedom in that great war?’ And one will say, ‘I marched with the Eighth Army!’ Someone else will proudly say, ‘I manned a submarine.’ And another will say, ‘I guided the ships that moved the troops and the supplies.’ And still another will say, ‘I doctored the wounds!’ ” The men sat with rapt attention wondering what he might say about them. “They will come to you,” he shouted, “and you will say with equal right and equal pride, ‘I cut the coal! I cut the coal that fueled the ships that moved the supplies! That’s what I did. I cut the coal!”
What are you cutting in your life?
Inspirations never go in for long engagements; they demand immediate marriage to action.
~~~Brendan Francis
Inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic energy striving, but it comes to us slowly and quietly and all the time.
~~~Brenda Ueland
Families are the compass that guide us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter.
~~~Brad Henry
Inspiration does not come like a blot, nor is it kinetic energy striving, but it comes to us slowly and quietly all the time.
~~~Brenda Euland
We are all motivated by a keen desire for praise, and the better a man is, the more he is inspired by glory.
~~~Marcus Tullius Cicero
The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
~~~Bertrand Russell
The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.
~~~Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Confidence imparts a wonderful inspiration to its possessor.
~~~John Milton
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
~~~John Quincy Adams
Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.
~~~Plato
Selfishness is one of the qualities apt to inspire love.
~~~Nathaniel Hawthorne
But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
~~~ Isaiah 40:31
Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.’
~~~Mark 10:27
But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’
~~~Matthew 19:26
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the LORD, knowing that in the LORD your labor is not in vain.
~~~1 Corinthians 15:58
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
~~~Proverbs 3:3-6
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
~~~1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Give thanks to the LORD for He is good: His love endures forever.
~~~Psalm 107:1
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~~~Jeremiah 29:11
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
~~~Psalm 34:8
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
~~~Romans 8:2
Lord, Allow me to receive inspiration from the scripture I read, the people I meet, the life I experience and to know that it is all from you. For in this knowing, I can live in a way that spreads your wisdom and goodness to a world that so desperately needs it. Let this and every day be a day of divine inspiration.
Amen
A Pastor's Thoughts 