The Divine Exchange: Trading Your Plans for God’s PurposeSample

The Power of a Pure Motive

When God began to rebuild my calling, He didn’t start with the what — He started with the why.

In the business world, motives are often measurable: profit margins, performance indicators, growth charts. But in God’s Kingdom, the metric is purity. I had to face the uncomfortable question: “Why do you really want to do this?”

At first, my answers sounded noble — “to help others,” “to glorify God,” “to build the Kingdom.” But beneath the holy vocabulary, I found a few hidden motives I hadn’t noticed — the desire to be seen, the fear of being forgotten, the need to prove I was still relevant.

That’s when I learned that God doesn’t expose motives to shame us; He does it to heal us. He wants our “why” clean so our “what” can carry weight.

The funny thing is, once I surrendered the outcome, things began to flow again. The pressure lifted, the striving stopped, and peace reigned. When your heart’s in the right place, your hands naturally follow.

Now, I often pray David’s old prayer with a modern twist: “Search my "plan," O God, and know my motives.”

Lesson
God is more interested in why you do something than what you do. A pure motive invites His presence; a mixed one invites exhaustion. Purity isn’t perfection — it’s alignment. When your heart beats in sync with His, even ordinary work becomes holy worship.