Motivations

Motivations. Something that those around cannot see. In fact most of us find it quit easy to drift through life half-heartedly while those around us see us as a hero because it is easy for us to "fake" sincerity.

We may greet someone with a big smile and say "hello" while thinking to our self that we hope they don't want to stop and talk because we are not in the mood.

Although it can be harder to fool close family (husband, children, mom, dad), when it comes to our motivates, but it is not impossible. I know there are when I half-heartedly give of my time and or energy to help my husband but, to be honest, I was just not "feeling it".

Sound familiar?

Motivations. 

There is only One who truly knows our motivations and that cannot be fooled by a smile, a cheery hello, or flimsy offer of help.

God sees the heart, the place where motivations stem. He tells us that " For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21) and "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45). 

God often makes reference to the heart when it comes to the motivations of men. In Matthew 15:8 we hear Jesus repeat what Isiah said, "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;" 

Verse 9 goes on to say that "in vain do they worship me..." How could He know this if He could not see their hearts. I don't know about you but their have been times when I've gone to church and "worshiped in vain" because my heart was not in it. Sadly, God knew it.

Another proof of God knowing our heart/motivations is evident in I Samuel 16:7 when God tells Samuel "..For the Lord does not see man as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."

God looks at my heart. That is a very discomforting thought. My heart is far from being perfect. My motives can be self seeking, self promoting and down right selfish. How can He be happy with that?

Thankfully, He isn't surprised by any negative thing that may heart can produce. I cannot make Him sad or surprise Him. He is not motivated or influenced by my emotions, sin, or motives. He has provided me with His Word so I know what He wants. He has provided me with the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide. I have all I need for my heart/motives to function as He intended.

So if God know our heart and He sees when our motivations for doing sometime are wrong, even sinful, what do we do? 

Seek Him through prayer and through reading His Word. Ask Him to help us when we know that our motives stink. Ask Him to make us aware of when our hearts are not where they need to be. 

I look to the example of King David when I think about this notion of "motivation". 

David was not prefect either. He made some major mistakes, committed sins that caused him a lot, yet God says that he (David) was a man after His own heart. Why? 

David loved and trusted God; to forgive him, to guide him, to change his heart. That is were we need to be, in the mindset of loving and trusting God enough to know that He will help us be all He wants us to be, and to change our hearts so out motivations will honor Him.

  

Highs and Lows

Have you ever had a day (week, month, or year) were you felt like you were on an emotional roller coaster. One moment you were in a great mood and the world looked bright and cheery only to have something happen that caused it to seem dark and dreary?

So what do you do when these moments come and is it possible to get to a point in your life where "feelings" stop causing you to run a muck?

I believe there is an solution but first let's look at someone who dealt with a roller coaster of emotions.

We meet him early on in the four Gospels of the New Testament. His name is Simon Peter. Ring a bell?

As I was recently reading Luke 5:1-11, I could see Peter "in the beginning" and realizing that his "highs and lows" were present from the moment we meet him.

In the passage above, Jesus was in the early stages of His ministry on earth. We see Him teaching, healing and being pursued by crowds of people. On this occasion, we see Him by the sea of Galilee trying to find a good location to be heard by those seeking after Him.

He gets into the boat of Simon Peter and asks him to push out a ways from the shore. Jesus teaches and then makes an unusual request of Peter,  "let's go fishing".

This is one of the first occasions that we see Peter emote as he says, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing BUT at your word I will let down the net".

I don't know about you, but I can almost hear the "huff" in his voice as he says "BUT". as if to say "If it makes you happy...".

Phew, I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have had that attitude. Already low because things have not gone my way, I retreat and settle into my comfort zone (for him, cleaning the nets), only to be asked to do something else that I am not in the mood to do. But to make someone else "happy", I do it.

In Luke 5:8 Peter's emotions take another turn as he sees an unexpected miracle, one that could only be explained by recognizing Jesus as God. He emotes again as he says, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord". A far cry from a couple of verse ago and the "if it make you happy..." attitude.

He now sees himself as wretched and unworthy, and to be honest, he was, but so are we.

This attitude is the first key; seeing ourselves as wretched and unworthy.

In today's society we strive to "build ourself and others up" so no one "feels bad" about who they are or what they do. The problem is that that idea spits in the face of God's Word.

Isaiah 53:6, Romans 3:23, Romans 7:24, I John 1:9-10

The second key to getting off the roller coaster of emotional highs and lows is found in Peters response in Luke 5:11, he along with Andrew, James and John, left what was familiar, giving up all they had and knew, to follow Jesus.

This is called faith. Believing without reservation. Giving up everything you are or will be and placing your trust in the One who created you, died and rose from the dead for you, and Who has a plan for your life.

This transformation from highs and lows did not happen over night for Peter. It took three years of being in the presence of Jesus, as well as His death and resurrection for Peter to get to the point were his emotions no longer had rule over him. Honestly, that makes me glad, because it means that there is still hope for me.

If I watch the progression of Peter throughout the New Testament, his highs and lows are caught and corrected by Jesus and the more faith/trust that Peter had in Jesus the less he over reacted.

So, for me, this means that I need to see myself as God sees me, wretched, unworthy and that I can only be made worthy through Jesus.

It also means that my faith/trust in Jesus must grow so that my emotions do not have rule over me.


When I base situations on my emotions then I end up on that roller coaster (and a mess). When I place my faith in Jesus as my Savior then trust Him to direct my life, then emotions will not have rule over me.