One of my favorite scriptures is found in Hebrews 11. Actually it is a favorite of many.
Hebrews 11:6 says; But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (NKJ)
I know many people who believe God is God but don’t necessarily believe that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. I know many people who say they have done this or that, according to the Bible, and it didn’t work for them.
As I have pondered over these things over the holidays I heard a statement in my heart. It was this; your motive will determine your harvest.
The more I serve God, the more I seek God, the more I find that everything, or at least almost everything is a heart matter. It is out of the abundance of the heart that we speak. It is what we speak that creates our world around us, just as God created this world, therefore it all goes back to the heart and the motives of the heart.
I began to ask myself some questions such as; why do I tithe and give? Why do I read the word of God? Why do I worship God? What exactly is my motive?
Am I giving to get? The Bible plainly tells me if I give that I will receive, but is that my motive? I give for a few reasons, the number one reason I give money or tithe is to honor God with what He has placed in my hands. It is not that God ‘owes’ me something for my giving – it was His to begin with but the biblical truth remains that if I give I shall receive, however, if motive determines my harvest, I have to first of all make sure my heart is right.
2 Corinthians 9:7 says in the Amplified Bible: Let each one give [thoughtfully and with purpose] just as he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver [and delights in the one whose heart is in his gift].
We see in this scripture that we are to give from the heart – it IS a heart matter, at least it is to God.
The Bible promises us a reward, this much is true, the reward comes from our motive, our desire to please Him. Let’s look again at this scripture in Hebrews 11: But without faith it is impossible to please Him…
You see, it all comes from our desire to please Him. And that, my friend, begins in the heart.
May this year be a year where our motive and our priority is to please God in everything we do. May it be our desire to please God in our finances. May it be our desire to please God in our words and deeds. May our desire to be to please God in the way we treat people. May it be our desire to please God in the way we spend our time.
May we make pleasing God our priority this year. May our hearts be to please God and may the reward of the motive of our heart manifest in 2016!
