Check Your Motive I

‘You can cry and cover the Lord’s altar with tears, but the Lord will not accept your gifts. He will not be pleased with the things you bring to him’ Mal.2:13 [ERV]

Second thing in enquiring from the Lord is check your motive. Why am I asking what I am asking? What is my motive? I encourage you to read Numbers 22. This is the story of a Prophet called Balaam and a king called Balak. Balaam was a gentile and not a Jew but Balaam knew God and could hear God. Balaam described himself as the one that sees a vision without closing his eyes. Balak the king of Moab said I have heard of a people who came out of Egypt and are consuming everything in their path. Every king knows there is a supernatural dimension to things. So Balaam come and curse these people for me. Balaam says no problem but that night God visits him. Who are these people with you? God asks. Balaam says they are from the king; he wants me to curse Israel. God says you can’t curse these people, they are blessed. So Balaam sends a message back to the king that the people cannot be cursed because God has blessed them. Then Balak says I am going to promote you, give you riches, and make you honorable. And Balaam began to look for ways to arm-twist God into cursing the people He has blessed. And God said Balaam go! Which is the danger some people are facing. They say that they have received “ABC” direction from God but it is really because they have arm-twisted God. And He says, “You want to go? Go, but I will wait for you on the road”. God is just amazing. Will Balaam be lying if he says, “thus says the Lord, the God of heaven told me to go”? But his motive was wrong and because of that God was going to kill him on the way. Balaam the Prophet that sees visions with his eyes open had a wrong motive. And it got to a point because his motive was so wrong that Balaam’s spiritual eyes became blind. There was an angel in front of him and he couldn’t even see it. But an ordinary donkey could see the angel. The donkey could see more vision than the Prophet. What was the problem? Motive! If Balaam knew that promotion doesn’t come from the east or from the west. If Balaam knew that it is God that lifts one up and brings down another down. How then can man say, “I’ll promote you” when you have access to the King of kings? Balaam’s response would have been different.

Prayer: Father, help me Lord never to be deceived into trading my place with You for a place among the materially wealthy, in Jesus Name.