My Walk With God: A Motive Assessment

“Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” [Luke 10:20]

In walking with God and growing in the things of God, many times it is easy to forget what exactly everything is about and start focusing on the wrong things [actually, the right things but in the wrong manner]. Many believers are acquainted with the verse before the opening scripture where Jesus said to His disciples, “I give unto you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” [Luke 10:19]. As important as Jesus’ words in this verse are, the knowledge of the words after “notwithstanding” in the next verse is equally important. He told us where our joy should be; He was giving us words to direct our motives. Praise God!

As we grow in God, we need to remind ourselves of the initial source of our joy in the early stages of our Christian walk, because it is possible for other motives to creep in unnoticed. Some people find that they only study the Word of God more because they want to manifest more of God’s power. There are also some who are leaders in church who have found that their study of the Word is for the members of their church group; the Word of God has ceased to be personal to them. Now, it’s about what they [the group members] need to hear – mostly about their sins and wrongs. When such people hear a message about punctuality, they immediately think about another brother or sister who is always late that needs to hear the message. They find it hard to take it for their own selves.

This reminds me of something interesting Jesus said right after praising the church of Ephesus in Revelations 2:1-7: “I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love” [verse 4]. Think to yourself, “have I forgotten my first love?” This is very important, because in verse 5, Jesus told them that the consequence of them not repenting and turning to their first works was that He would “remove thy candlestick out of its place”. Now, that’s big! After praising their patience and their laboring for the gospel, the church of Ephesus could have lost it all for forgetting their first love.

When you do what you do, do it out of a love for Jesus. If you forgive someone who did you wrong, let it not just be because you want to be known as a good Christian. If you accept “tough” correction from your leaders [especially in church], don’t think “I’ll accept it, but I know God will punish him/her for speaking to me like that!” Does God have to punish everyone that does you wrong? Must they receive a negative payment or suffering because you chose to do what was right? Can’t you think that they may have spoken that way for your own good and accept it? When Sarah, Abraham’s wife, began unjustly maltreating their servant Hagar and she ran away, the Angel of the Lord appeared to her on the way and told her to return to her mistress and be obedient to her. God told Hagar that, if she did that, she [Hagar] would be blessed. But, interestingly, God did not go after Sarah to punish her as some people may have thought He would since He acknowledged that Sarah was doing something wrong [see Genesis 16]. Understand that God loves those who may seem to be your enemies. Think like God; they [those seeming enemies] don’t have to receive a payment for their wrongs. Didn’t Jesus already receive that payment in death? Let your love for the Master motivate your actions.

Finally, here is one that really got me today. When you choose to love the Lord and serve Him with all of you, never think of it in terms of reward first. Of course, there is reward involved, but is that all there is? I thought to myself today; what if after I have finished living my life on earth for the Lord and in His purpose, I don’t seem [in men’s eyes] to be as successful as my contemporaries, should that mean anything to me? And, then, another thought came, “well, you’ll receive your reward in heaven and who knows, maybe those other guys will not receive as much of a reward”. And, I thought again to myself, “there is no sorrow in heaven and regrets will be wiped away”, so it is not as though anybody will wish in heaven that they had made the choices I made on earth. Yes, for a moment they may feel that way, but it’ll be replaced with the joy of heaven for all eternity. So, if you have lived your life making God’s choices for the sake of that one moment of regret for others, it’ll have all not been worth it and the Master may not even accept your works.

Your walk with God is your walk with God. Nobody else needs to regret anything, because they did not do what you did, just as you never have to regret anything because you did not do what another person did. Your love for Jesus is your choice; let it be founded on the realization of the Truth that He paid a heavy ransom for your life. He paid with His own life for you. Learn to love Him for Him. Thank Him for the opportunity to know and love Him the way you do, because it is a grace that not too many can boast of. That is why I have decided that my walk with God is my walk with God and no one else’s! 


Enjoy glorious worship moments with the following video even as you share your thoughts on the subject. God bless you!