What do we do when there is no passion to encourage others?  What happens when we feel completely depleted?  Passion, motivation, not here!  What about when it feels like every cell in our bodies is pushing against our souls making it painful to even get out of bed?  How do we add PEP to our lives and to the lives of others?

Pray First.  Offer up whatever we have, as meager as it may be to God.  Just start there.  It can be in our heads, on our knees, through anger or through tears.  It’s amazing how encouraging how it can be to just get it out of our systems.  It’s going to be so tempting to first tell someone else, but we truly need to go to God first.  He’s already well aware of what is going on inside of us and around us.

Do something.  Get Started, Don’t Quit.  How easy is it for us to waste an entire day worrying, wondering and weeping?  I know exactly how quickly a day can seem to tumble.  How it feels like rolling a bolder up hill to get the day back.  With God’s strength it can be done.  Pick something small that you can do, is there something that will give you a small sense of accomplishment.

For me, I had one of those days yesterday.  I felt the pressure of my circumstances squeezing against my chest.  My mind was racing with doubt, with fear and with negative what-if ideas.  My eyes were welling with tears.  Each breath seem a struggle to get in and out.  But I couldn’t give in, I could waste this precious day that I had been given.  So I prayed.  I asked a few of my close friends to hold me in prayer.  I got started.  I sorted through a few of the papers that my kids had piled from the previous day of school.  I made beds.  I picked up laundry.  Soon bedrooms were looking better.  I was moving in a positive direction.

Was I feeling better?  A tiny bit.  Moments later I thought I would start crying again, but I thought four words – get started, don’t quit.  Press on.  Wash some dishes.  Check in with a brother by phone.  Keep going.  One little step at a time I would conquer this day.

You can do the same thing.  No matter how badly, no matter what lies before us.  This day is still a gift.  We do not have to arrive at your life time destination today.  In fact, we won’t.  Otherwise we wouldn’t need a tomorrow.  We just need to make meaningful progress to continue moving in a direction.  Even if it’s one phone call, dealing with one bill that is nagging at you, one decision that needs to be made at work or one closet that needs to be cleaned out.   Get started, don’t quit.

You can do it!  I know you can!  I believe in you!  Even more, God believes in you.  He is ready to provide strength.  He is cheering you on.  He’s right beside you to work with you.  He’ll be ahead of you, focusing your eyes on Him.  He’ll be behind you, telling you not to look back because He’s covered the past in His grace.  Where we are lacking, He has abundance.  Abundant Encouragement, Abundant Passion.  He will PEP UP us today!