motives

Opening Prayer:  Lord Jesus, give me the grace and the strength and the courage every day to get up, leave the house, go off to a solitary place, and pray.  For only then will I have any real hope of living the life you want me to live.  Amen.

Scripture: Mark 1:35-38

Journal: Applause or demands?  Which do you typically live for?  What is the result?  What would it look like to be motivated solely by the love of Jesus instead?

Reflection: “Everyone is looking for you!” (Mark 1:37) How would you respond to that statement?  Does it fill you with excitement and anticipation, or with dread and obligation?  The answer to these questions will tell you a lot about what really motivates you.

Some are motivated by applause.  They hear the statement as a reflection on their own popularity, desirability, and worth.  I mean, everyone wants to be wanted, right?  Everyone wants to be sought after, at least to some degree.

But others are motivated by demands and expectations.  They live life with a certain degree of pressure and responsibility.  Their greatest fear is that they would disappoint those around them.       

What do these two have in common?  They both have fear at their core.  Whether it is a fear of not being seen as valuable, or the fear of disappointing others, both are fear-based.  And fear—at least this kind of fear—as a motive doesn’t typically lead to healthy results.

But what about Jesus?  How did he respond?  He did not allow his direction to be controlled by applause or demands, but only by the voice of the One who loved him.  Because he got up (while it was still dark, mind you), left the house, went off to a solitary place, and prayed, he was rooted in God’s direction and agenda, rather than that of those around him.  In fact, he replied, “Let us go somewhere else so I can preach there also.  That is why I came.” 

There is simply no substitute for this.  It is the key to life with God.  Period.  If we ever hope to have any substance and depth and rootedness in our lives with God, we too must get up, leave the house, go off to a solitary place, and pray.  Every single day.  That is the only way that our motives will actually become God’s motives.

Prayer

Closing Prayer:  Not demand, nor applause, O Lord, but your voice alone.  Amen.