It’s All About Motive – What Is Yours?

It’s Been a Long Time

I haven’t written in a while, and God has been dealing with me about that!  I’ve been caught up in so much “stuff” that I have neglected to make the time for my regular posts. For that I have asked God to forgive me.

We each have gifts from Him and we have them so that we might minister to one another. He intends for us to help one another. When we don’t yield to His call, someone needing that help might not receive what God intended. I get so much inspiration from Him that causes my heart yearn for more of His presence; and, one of the ways I grow closer to Him is to obey His commands.

All that being said – I’ve had several issues lately that have confronted me, requiring that I make choices – difficult choices. It’s just easier to procrastinate – like Scarlet O’Hara from Gone With The Wind, when she said something like “Fiddle Dee Dee – I’ll think about that tomorrow!” Well, too many of my tomorrows have passed. I can just see God with His arms folded across His chest and tapping His foot, waiting for me to do what He has directed me to do (well, you know what I mean).

So! It’s time for confrontation – don’t you just hate confrontation? I’ve noticed that as I grow older – (which is one thing, regrettably, I can’t put off until tomorrow), I can’t multi-task like I  used to. Actually, it’s hard for me to single-task sometimes!!

One of My Favorites

Motive is one of my favorite subjects, mainly because I struggle with it a lot. God made us who we are, giving us the gifts He determined would fit with our personalities and our testimonies. The following Scriptures always bring me peace. What a comfort to know how much God loves me. Whenever I feel alone, or sad, or upset, or any other emotion – any uncontrollable event, I read His Word on it as follows:

• “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I stand; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down. You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”  Psalm 139: 1-6 NIV

Meditate on these verses. This promise from God is declaring to us that he knows every single thing we do and say, and why we do it and say it. When the Scripture declares that he hems us in it means He is watching every single thing that happens to us and He is guarding over us.

• I am a tailor, a seamstress. I have hemmed thousands of dresses and pants, so let me tell you exactly what it means to be hemmed in. There is a bottom to dresses and pants (Duh!). If they are not hemmed they can unravel. A hem means that the bottom edge is sewn with a clean edging and then folded up inside the garment and sewn in place. The hem can be a tiny 1/8″ to several inches deep. That section inside the the folded hem is a tunnel locked in place. It gives the garment a clean, finished look and makes the garment the correct length. Nothing is easily getting inside that hem. This was actually a method used in days of old for women to hide things of value. 

So what is MOTIVE?

I’ve taken all the “personality” and “gifts” tests over the years which help me understand some of the ways God uses me (some of the motives for doing what I do.) More importantly, I’ve learned through just living life day to day – making some good choices and some not so good. According to all the “surveys” I have the gift of prophecy (declaring God’s truth), faith (believing God’s Word), and Encouragement (helping others to see just what God’s promises are for them , to give them hope when they need it most).

• Motive – defined by Webster is – “a reason for doing something, especially one that is hidden or not obvious.”

I learned most about my incorrect motives by mistakes I’ve made in my life. Had I been more faithful in studying God’s Word I could have possible avoided many of those mistakes. Mind you, I didn’t know I was making the mistakes – until thing went wrong.

• Getting to the main point, our motives are not always obvious to us. Scripture tells us “Our hearts are more deceitful than ALL things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” KJV

Just meditate on that for a bit. Don’t read it negatively, read it as a warning from God.  Read it so that you will know HE is the answer. HE alone can show you the way.

• “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” NIV

I have a saying – “Is it a good thing or a God thing?” A good thing (which may seem good to you, but isn’t from God) is not the same as a God thing. For one thing, it’s hard to get out of “so called ‘good things’ if they aren’t God things! AND, if it’s not a God thing, it’s going to take us the long way around to the fullness God has for us. It’s probably also going to take us into some real hardship. (Ask me  how I know.)

Born Into Sin

We were born into sin. It is only the blood of Jesus Christ that makes us clean. So! How can we expect to make proper decisions unless we first consult God, our Father? He sees our hearts. We’re not hiding anything from Him. He’s not looking the other way. He’s also not waiting for us to make a mistake so He can punish us. He loves us more than we love our own children. Selah, pause, and calmly think about that. He wants us to avoid pitfalls. He wants to spare us the pain. It’s our choices, many times, that bring the pain.

As Christians, we can sometimes be harder on ourselves than even God is. He spoke to my heart one time and clearly said, “If you will let me set your goals you can reach them.” I was always failing at the goals I had set for myself.

It’s okay to check your heart (your motives). If I am not sure of a thing I pray. I ask God to show me what my motives are. I judge myself. I test my motives against Scripture and what I know to be right. If I’m not sure, I wait. Yep. Wait – one of the things we hate doing the most. Most of the time, as I pray, God will speak to my heart and lead me to the answers I am seeking. It’s God we must please, not ourselves or others.

What Are Your God Given Gifts? Your Motives?

If you haven’t studied about the gifts in the Bible, it will answer many questions for you. There are different kinds of gifts. There are “motivational” gifts (the reason we do what we do – the thing that motivates us) – ministry gifts, and other gifts to learn about.

What’s The Purpose?

That’s what this article is about – purpose. There is much too much for me to continue in this post. It’s already way long. So let’s consider this “continued” . . .