God Looks on the Heart

Readings for today: 1 Samuel 15-17, Psalms 82

What does God see when He looks on your heart? Does He see a heart full of devotion or a heart that’s divided? Does He see a heart that is humble and willing and obedient or a heart that is prideful and resistant and oriented more around self? Does He see a heart full of love and grace or a heart full of anger and hate? Does He see a heart that is quick to forgive or quick to judge? How is your heart? Have you spent intentional time cultivating a heart after God or have you ignored or neglected your heart along the way?

1 Samuel 16:7 is one of my favorite verses in all the Bible. “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.” (1 Samuel‬ ‭16‬:‭7‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

What does it mean to love God with a “whole” heart? To be fully devoted to Him? To make Him our first love? Does it mean outward, physical perfection? King Saul literally stood head and shoulders above his countrymen. (1 Sam. 10:23) Eliab, David’s older brother, clearly was an impressive physical specimen. (1 Sam. 16:6) Does it mean achievement or success? I am sure God could easily have lined up a hundred other men who had accomplished a heck of a lot more than David. Is it based on wealth or privilege? Or perhaps great moral character? What kind of heart does God treasure in a man or woman? The key is found in 1 Sam. 15:22-23 CSB, ”Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.” Humility. Submission. Obedience. These are the qualities on which God places supreme value. So are we willing to listen? Willing to follow? Willing to surrender our plans in favor of God’s plan for our lives? Are we willing to trust God even when our circumstances seem bleak? Are we willing to obey even when it’s hard? 

As we’ve read yesterday and today, King Saul was a half-hearted man. Though he was chosen by God and instructed by Samuel in the “rights and duties” of godly kingship, his heart was divided. At times, Saul was faithful and found great success. At other times, he was unfaithful and found only heartbreak. The unlawful sacrifice at Gilgal. A rash vow during the heat of battle. A refusal to devote the Amalekites to destruction. These events illustrate the half-hearted devotion Saul paid to God and it eventually cost him everything. The kingdom was literally ripped from his hands. The Spirit of the Lord departed from him. And he ended up tormented and paranoid. 

King David was a whole-hearted man. As we will see, David was a man after God’s own heart but this doesn’t make him perfect. His failures are massive and significant and costly. But through it all, the one thing David does is keep seeking after God. David keeps humbling himself before God. David keeps returning to God in repentance. And God loves David. Honors David. Promises to give the throne to his descendents for generations.  

So time to take stock. Time to step back and honestly examine your own heart. Are you half-hearted or whole-hearted in your devotion to Jesus? We’ve already seen that it doesn’t necessarily depend on our outward appearance or achievement or actions. We can’t count on the image we project to the world to save us. We have to be strong and courageous enough to take the inward journey into the heart. What do you find there? What will God see when He looks at you?

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Samuel 18-20, Psalms 83 (No devotionals on Sundays)

Follow Your Heart?

Readings for today: Jeremiah 17-19, 1 Timothy 6:2-21

“Just follow your heart.” It makes for a great Disney tune but it’s not a great philosophy for life. Unfortunately, our culture promotes this lie relentlessly. Everyone from Silicon Valley icons to Hollywood entertainers to academic luminaries to political activists to sports stars all share the same advice. “Follow your heart.” “Trust your gut.” “Believe in yourself.” “Do what your heart tells you and your mind will follow.” It sounds really good, doesn’t it? Almost biblical. It taps into our innermost longings. It affirms our secret desires. It seems like the only path to true happiness and joy. 

Sadly, the opposite seems to be true. How many stories do we know of men and women who “followed their heart”, achieved international celebrity and great success, but lost their families in the process? How many stories do we hear of the secret lives of famous men and women that are filled with addiction, abuse, neglect, and trauma? How many experiences have we had where our “hearts” led us to some pretty dark and twisted places? Shoot, I could give you several examples from my own life where “following my heart” led me into a ditch. None of us start out intending to go there of course. None of us begin with bad intentions. We are simply human. We make mistakes. We are prone to failure. We can’t seem to get out of our own way.

So here’s the question…Why? Why is it that human beings seem so naturally bent towards self-destruction? Why, after tens of thousands of years, do we still exhibit a penchant for cruelty, hatred, greed, violence, and an unbridled lust for power? Jeremiah 17:9 offers us a clear and compelling diagnosis. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” These ancient words ring so true, do they not? We simply cannot trust our hearts. We cannot trust our feelings. We cannot trust our emotions. They change with the wind. They are influenced far too easily. The endorphin rush they create overrides our rationality. Eats away at our commitments. We find ourselves doing the very things we hate and not doing the things we love. We find ourselves wrapped up in all kinds of “wrong” when we know there’s a better, truer path to “right.” We find ourselves compromising or rationalizing all sorts of sin. It’s craziness. Literal insanity to trust in an organ that is so fickle and yet we seem to fall into this same trap over and over again. 

So what’s the answer? We turn to the Lord. The One who made us and shaped us and formed us and fashioned us. The One who called us and claimed us as His own from eternity. The One who first established us and gave our lives purpose and meaning and showed us the way to true fulfillment. The One who would not abandon us in our sin but came to us. Suffered for us. Died for us. All to set us free so that we might live again. "I, the Lord, search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds." (Jeremiah‬ ‭17:10‬) 

Here is the fundamental question we have to answer on a daily, even hourly basis. Do we trust the One who created us and loved us or do we trust ourselves? Do we trust in the One whose love is always steadfast, loyal and true or do we trust our fickle, human hearts? Do we trust the One who never makes mistakes? Never falls down on the job? Never fails to deliver on His promises? Or do we trust the guy or gal in the mirror with the incredible spotty track record? The great news of the gospel is that we have a Good Father in heaven who delights in giving good gifts to His children. We have a gracious Savior who gave His own life to deliver us from slavery to sin. We have the Holy Spirit living inside us who promises to guide and direct and show us the way to true joy and everlasting peace. Trust Him today!

Readings for tomorrow: None