Motivation is the key to life. It is not only the key to getting work done, but it is the key to living itself! Once a person loses the will to live, health suffers and death is never more than a step or two away.

Motivation is hard to sustain at times, though. The cloudy moments of life cause us to say, "What’s the use of it all?" We want to chuck everything and let come what may without care or concern. That’s when we need to see again the glory of the Lord revealed, for in God’s presence among us we find the very heart of our motivation for life. Or, to use the suggestion of the title of this sermon, when the clouds of life darken our existence, we can be sure the Son-shine will again break through the clouds and warm our lives with God’s grace.

The problem is, though, how to keep going w…