Jan. 15, 2026

The Directions: Part 4

What motivates your dreams and desires? In today's episode, Stephanie Muiña invites us to explore our hearts as we continue The Directions series with Part 4. Together, we'll reflect on how our motives shape our actions, the role of contentment, and what it looks like to truly trust God with our deepest aspirations. Through personal stories and scripture from Philippians 4, we'll learn the importance of aligning our dreams with God's will and relying on His strength instead of our own. Join o...

What motivates your dreams and desires?

In today's episode, Stephanie Muiña invites us to explore our hearts as we continue The Directions series with Part 4. Together, we'll reflect on how our motives shape our actions, the role of contentment, and what it looks like to truly trust God with our deepest aspirations. Through personal stories and scripture from Philippians 4, we'll learn the importance of aligning our dreams with God's will and relying on His strength instead of our own.

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WEBVTT

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You're listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1444. Today's Devo is called the Directions Part 4. Hey there. We're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional Podcast. Good morning everybody. Stephanie here. I pray that these devotionals are encouraging you. If they are, drop a comment below. Let's stay in conversation about this because this is one of my favorite things to do. If there's any confusion, let's bring clarity. Because God is not a God of confusion. He's a God of peace. He's a God of order. And I know for a fact that he will bring you into peace. He will bring you into order, into alignment with his will, if we only set out for it. So let's read. I'm reading from Philippians 4:11 13 in the NIV version, and it says, not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound in any and every circumstance. I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Oof. I love that verse and I hope that this is blessing you all this week. Thank you for being so open to listening to my devo yesterday about finances. Today I'm going to get into another topic. When it comes to figuring out what you want to do in life, if you want to take a step of faith, another thing to sit back and analyze is your motive and your heart. You know, I love to write songs. I write songs for my church. I write songs on our worship team. And I really wanted to start traveling for my songwriting because I saw more for myself. I wanted to get in the room and write new songs for the church. I wanted to meet new people. I wanted to travel to other cities. I wanted to knock on every single door.

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And I knew that that particular action wasn't wrong. Striving for more, knocking on doors, seeing which one gives you that, yes, is wonderful. I think that you, if you have dreams on your heart, if you have desires, you are meant to go out and conquer and see what doors open and see what opportunities come your way.

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I think that that is exactly what Christians should be doing. We should be growing, we should be building. We should see what opportunities come for us so we could build something powerful and also spread his word. However, the downside to that is that there's a very fine line of being discontent with what the Lord has already given us. And I know that I have to be so careful with my intentions and my motive when I set out for more. And when it came to me wanting to travel, there was a small part of me that wasn't exactly pure in my intentions because my expectations were wrong.

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And I noticed that when my expectations weren't met and my heart wasn't in a healthy place, I took it all personally. I started to question if I was even gifted. I started to question if I was even good at this stuff. And I noticed that when I was stepping out to achieve more, my hope wasn't in the Lord, it was in man.

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And because man said no to me, it set me back. And I noticed the reason why that set me back was because my motive was wrong from the start. And I'm learning that when I want to set out to knock on the doors and to seek out opportunity, my hope has to be in God every time. Because I know that the Lord is the only one who establishes my path, not man. So I can get turned down from anybody. But I know that that's simply the Lord redirecting my steps. His rejection is my protection.

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So my question to you is this. If you want more in your life, if you want to buy a new house, if you want a big wedding, if you want a new job, what is your motive?

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Where in your heart does this come from? Is this to impress everyone? Is this to impress somebody who hurt you? Is this out of revenge? Is this out of discontentment?

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Or is this to grow your life? Is this to walk in your blessings? Is this to walk in your calling? Dreams are placed in your heart by the Lord. So are you partnering with the Lord to get it done? Or are you partnering with your own strengths?

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Because only God can open the doors that men keep shut. And only God can bring the supernatural opportunities.

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Not our strength, not our power, not even our gifts.

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Only God can do it. Only his spirit. Only his power and his might. So just like I had to, I would encourage you. Just check your heart and guard it. And when then, when your heart is in the right place, move forward with boldness. Let's pray. God, we thank you for the dreams and desires that you have placed on your heart. But today we take a step back and we analyze the motives that are in our heart.

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We first want to declare this over our heart. We love you God.

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You are our provider, you are our guider, you are the one that establishes our plans. So God we trust you. We keep our eyes set on you and we never put our trust in man but we only put our trust in you God.

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So allow us to move forward with healthy hearts, with clean hands and a pure heart so we could set out to please, please and glorify you. And in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

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So there you have it. Your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow. We pray that your latte is strong but your love for Jesus is stronger.