What’s Your Motivation?

When one takes a moment to reflect upon motivation we see that in and of itself it is not a bad thing. Many times it has a negative connotation with it but simply put, motivation is the inner drive that causes us to do something or act in a certain way. When we are hungry, motivation is the driving force in the decision to reach for the refrigerator handle. It drives us to get up when we stumble or fail. Behind each life-goal that is met one can find motivation as the inner driving force. We all possess this inner drive but the option is ours whether this drive remains pure or whether it becomes corrupted by greed and self-importance. Unfortunately there are times when each of us can inadvertently slip from pure motivations to corrupted ones without realizing we’ve done so, even if we are walking with the Lord. Too often we can read a scripture like Ps 37:4 (AMP), “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desire and secret petitions of your heart” and think we’ve just discovered a one-way ticket to a gold mine. It does sound good and we can begin thinking that if we just delight in Him that new Corvette will be ours in no time. However, this line of thinking misses the point and instead of delight in God it becomes greed-motivated adoration. True delight is motivated by love and is actually an inward action, as stated in Rom 7:22 (AMP), “For I endorse and delight in the Law of God in my inmost self (with my new nature)”. Ps 1:2 (AMP) echoes the delight in the law of the Lord, “But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.” When one does delight in the Lord, in His precepts, an interesting thing happens. Many of the desires of the heart do change. The ones that remain transfixed are the ones that were never motivated by greed to start with. There may still come a day when that muscle car is parked in the garage, the home-based business that has been a life-long goal comes to fruition, or the keys to a larger home that suits the family better are finally handed over. Do remember, however, that the end result of such blessings is not merely in the fulfilling of the desires of the heart it is to glorify our Father in Heaven. He absolutely loves to lavish his children with good gifts and it is okay to ask of Him as long as the desire is motivated by love for Him and our delight is in His law. What we ask must line up with His Word and will. We must also continually ask the Holy Spirit to check the motive behind our request and convict us when we ask for the wrong reason. But what do we do when there is a request we have been making, a strong desire such as one has never felt before that we know comes from the right motivation, that seems to go unfulfilled? Either it could be that our timing is not lining up with God’s or it could be that what we ask for requires the cooperation of another person. For example, after years of praying, the desire of our heart for our loved one(s) or friend(s) to serve the Lord does not seem to be coming to fruition. The motives are pure. The love is real. What we ask lines up with the Word. It absolutely is God’s will that none shall perish (2Peter 3:9) because Jesus was sent to save the entire world (John 12:47). However, the prayers still seem to go unanswered. Ultimately what we have encountered here is the free will of another. Remember, though a person’s free will cannot be changed we can hold onto this desire and persevere in prayer until being called home to be with the Lord. If the case of an unfulfilled desire is due to the lack of proper timing, give that up to your Father. He knows. He won’t forget. And He is always right on time. Lastly, and what personally thrills me the most, is the fulfillment of desires that you have not even asked your Father for. I’m speaking of the “secret petitions.” Perhaps those are the most special times because this is when you realize that your God, the God of the universe, the Creator of all, took the time to look deep into your heart and just give you a thrill because He loves you so. And just think, it’s all because you have taken the time to delight yourself in Him and you possess pure motivation.