Faith, Christian Living, Spiritual Growth

Do You Seek God for Who He Is—or for What He Can Do?

When a pastor repeatedly asks, “Are you seeking God because you love Him, or because of what He can do for you?”, it has a way of lodging in your heart. That single question cuts to the core, exposes our motives, and helps us understand why the Bible says our hearts are deceitful.

The Question That Won’t Go Away

Many of us can recall a moment when a simple question from the pulpit cut straight through to our hearts. The question currently on my mind was sparked by hearing my pastor ask more than once, “Are you seeking God because you love God, or are you seeking what He can do for you?” I don't think the repetition is an accident.

That question was an invitation. I needed to slow down and examine my prayers, my worship, and especially the disappointments in my life. Anyone else?

Do we draw near to God mainly when we need rescue, provision, or direction? Or do we also come simply to Him to know Him, and to love Him, even when nothing in our circumstances seems to change?

Loving the Giver More Than the Gifts

There is nothing wrong with asking God for help. Scripture is full of stories about bringing needs, fears, and desires before Him. The danger appears when our relationship with God shifts into a kind of spiritual transaction: I pray, I serve, I give—and in return, God keeps my life comfortable and my plans on track.

Over time, we may find that our joy rises and falls almost entirely on whether God seems to be “coming through” for us. When prayers are answered the way we hoped, we feel close to Him. When they are not, we pull back. This can be a sign that we have begun to seek what He can do more than who He is.

💡 Rippling Reflection: If God never changed your circumstances but promised to stay with you, would you still want Him as much?

Why Scripture Calls Our Hearts Deceitful

The Bible’s words about the heart are so wise: "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9, ESV. I don't think this verse was meant to crush us but rather to create awareness. It explains why we can sincerely believe we are seeking God out of pure love, while hidden motives tug beneath the surface.

Our hearts are capable of self-deception. We can say, “I just want God’s will,” yet deep down be clinging to our own plans. We can sing about God’s goodness, yet secretly measure that goodness by how closely life matches our expectations. Recognizing this is not a sign of failure; it is the first step toward honesty with God.

Honest reflection before Scripture helps expose motives we might rather ignore.

Bringing Our Mixed Motives into the Light

So what do we do when that persistent question from our pastor reveals uncomfortable truths? We start by bringing our motives—however tangled—into the light of God’s presence. Instead of pretending our hearts are more pure than they are, we can pray honestly: “Lord, I see that I often seek You for what You can do. Teach me to love You for who You are.”

Over time, as we spend unhurried time with God in prayer, in Scripture, and in worship that is not driven by crisis or urgency, our hearts begin to change. We slowly learn the beauty of seeking His presence more than His presents, His character more than His interventions, His nearness more than His answers.

📌 A Ripple to Remember: The deceitfulness of our hearts is not the end of the story; it is an invitation to deeper, more honest love for God.

Learning to Seek God for God

When our pastor asks again, “Are you seeking God because you love God, or are you seeking what He can do for you?”, let's no longer allow it to be a source of shame, but a reminder. It is a question that keeps us awake to the reality of our own hearts and to the deeper joy that is possible when we seek God Himself as our greatest treasure.

In the end, I don't think that God is offended by our needs or our requests. He invites them. But He also invites us into something richer: a relationship where He is not just the One who answers our prayers, but the One our hearts truly love—even when the answers are slow in coming, or look different than we hoped. That kind of love is only possible when we let His Word expose our deceitful hearts and His grace gently reshape them...and a reshaped heart can be used by God to begin a ripple of hope that reaches far beyond what we may know in this lifetime. 💜