1. My Heart Is Full Of Love And Joy And Peace
My mind seems to go in a thousand directions when I lay down to sleep at night. That's not always a bad thing. Sometimes I remember something really important that I was supposed to do, and I get up and do it as quickly as I can so I can get back under the warm covers. Many times over the last two months I have gone to bed with a heavy heart, but last night I realized that it has been eight weeks since Michael's heart surgery, and I said to myself, "My heart is full!" We just finished our devotions on "Jesus Cares" and my Lord lifted the burdens that had been so heavy. My heart seemed full of love and joy, and overflowing peace. But, most of all my heart felt full of gratitude. I am thankful that the Lord brought Michael through a difficult and life threatening operation. And He continues to help him through the healing process. I am grateful for all the prayers that went up on his behalf. I appreciate all the cards and messages we received, and the help and support that continues. Yes, my heart is full! Let's look at some of the scriptures about our heart.
"I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope." (Psalm 16:8-9)
2. Heart And Soul
We see red hearts in many places to remind us that Valentine's Day is coming up. At the hospital Michael was given a large, red, heart shaped pillow after his heart surgery. He holds it against his chest when he coughs or sneezes to help ease the pressure. He also had to hold it like that in the beginning to keep him from using his arms to help him stand, and to remind him not to lift anything. Our heart really isn't like that fluff, filled, heart shaped pillow. It isn't just an organ with valves and chambers, and arteries and vessels for the blood to flow through like the picture on his pillow. When the Bible speaks of the heart it goes beyond being an organ that continually pumps to keep us alive. God's Word often pairs "heart" and "soul" together. "But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul." (Deuteronomy 4:29) "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." (Deuteronomy 6:5) Romans 10:9-10 includes our heart in God's plan of salvation. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." We might believe what we hear about Jesus, but to receive His gift of salvation we must believe in our heart.
3. Love The Lord With All Your Heart And Soul
The Bible does not tell us to give God all our money or possessions. The Bible doesn't tell us to give Him all our time. The Bible tells us to give God all our love. When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment, He said, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment." (Mark 12:30) We are to put our all, all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength, to loving our God. If we focus our lives on loving our God, then we have the peace to let Him take care of everything else. And the wonderful thing about love is, the more love we give to God, the more love we receive in return, to give to others. All of this is great, but even more amazing is the love God has for us. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) And nothing can separate us from the love of Christ!
"35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35-39)
4. Serve The Lord With All Your Heart And Soul
I feel so blessed when the Lord will show me verses to use for my devotionals during my daily reading. As I read through the 11th chapter of Deuteronomy I noticed the word "heart" in three different verses. But, before we get there, I wanted to share a beautiful picture of how God cares for His children in the preceding verses. "But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year." (Deuteronomy 11:11-12) We can also say that the eyes of the Lord are always upon us, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. "The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry." (Psalm 34:15) "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." (Proverbs 15:3) Okay, now we can move on to the next verses and see our "heart" verses for today.
As you read the scriptures below you will see that we are not only to love the Lord with all our heart and soul, but we are also to serve Him with all our heart and soul. (verse 13) And in verses 18-20 God tells us to "lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul..." He commands us to have the Word of God in our heart and in our soul and put His Word before our eyes, on our door posts, and on our gates. He emphasizes that we are to teach God's Word to our children, "speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." We are to continually be telling our children about our Lord.
Our final "heart" verse from this chapter is verse 16, "Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;" If we don't love the Lord with all our heart and soul, and we don't serve the Lord with all our heart and soul, and we don't keep His Word in our heart and soul, then our heart will be deceived and we will turn away from our God. This is an important message to keep in our heart and soul!
"13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.
15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.
16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
17 And then the LORD'S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.
18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:
21 That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth." (Deuteronomy 11:13-21)
5. Does Your Heart Burn?
Do you remember the story of the two followers of Jesus, traveling on the road to Emmaus? They talked of how the chief priests and rulers delivered Jesus to be condemned to death and crucified. Being after the resurrection, Jesus appeared and walked and talked with them, but they didn't recognize Him.
"25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread." (Luke 24:25-35)
Notice verse 32, "And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" Their hearts burned as they walked and talked with Him by the way. Do our hearts burn to walk and talk with the Lord? Michael continues to make progress after his heart surgery and we were able to go to church Sunday morning. It was the first time we have been since we were isolated before Thanksgiving. It was such a joy to be in God's house after being out so long. And, yes, our hearts did burn as we saw our Christian friends, and listened to the singing, and sat and heard the message from Pastor Tripp. We are so thankful and blessed!
6. My Heart's Desire
What is your heart's desire? Psalm 37:4 tells us, "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." There have been many times when I quietly wished for something and I received it shortly thereafter. I remember thinking one time that I could use an umbrella. I didn't realize at the time that the company I worked for had already ordered really good umbrellas for the employees with the business logo. Years ago when I was waiting in line to pick up my children from school I saw the teacher assistants opening the car doors for the students, and I thought, I could work at a school. Just a little while later the principal called and said that one of the teacher assistants broke her foot and asked if I wanted to take her place. So I worked at the school for a while. I also remember the time our children wanted to go camping and some dear friends gave us a tent. God has given me my heart's desire so many, many times. But, I don't want to stop with these temporal things. Look at what the Apostle Paul said about his heart's desire. "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved." (Romans 10:1) This should be the desire of my heart... to see people come to the Lord and be saved. This is also the Lord's desire. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (II Peter 3:9) Keep praying for the lost. Tell them how good the Lord has been to you. As we look around for our heart's desires, let's remember to focus on things that are eternal.
7. Man's Heart Sinned And God's Heart Was Grieved
The first references to "heart" in the Bible are found here in Genesis 6, verses 5 and 6. "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." We see the contrast between God and man. Verse 5 tells us that man has a wicked heart. Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, and man's sin grew worse and worse. We also see this in the New Testament in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Genesis 6:6 tells us that God's heart is grieved because of man's sin. "And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." (Genesis 6:6-8) Praise the Lord for grace. God loved us so much He was willing to give His only begotten Son to pay our sin-debt. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) How is your heart? The Lord can give you a clean heart.
8. What's Written In Your Heart?
Michael went back to school Wednesday, and I really don't want him driving yet, so I drove him and walked with him to his classroom. As we went down the hall and came to his door, we could see lots of sticky note hearts, each one written with a message from his students, such as "Welcome back" and "We missed you." When he opened the door there were more messages and balloons hanging from the board. It filled his heart with joy to see all these thoughtful hearts.
What's written in your heart? When God called Moses to come up into the mount it was to give him commandments written on tables of stone. The people could not keep the law, so God made a new covenant, to write the law in their hearts.
"31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jeremiah 31:31-33)
The Apostle Paul expressed this in his letter to the church at Corinth. "Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." (II Corinthians 3:2-3) I have heard preachers say that our lives are the only Bible some people will read. Is God's Word written in your heart so clearly that others can see Christ through your life?
9. The Valentine Card
I have been with Michael 24/7 since he came home from the hospital following his heart surgery. When he went back to school on Wednesday I decided it was the perfect chance to get him a card and a few goodies for Valentine's Day. It usually takes me a while to find a card that says exactly what I want to say, but when I found this one I knew it was perfect. It has the beginning of I John 4:17 on the front, "Herein is our love made perfect,..." I like cards with Bible verses. In the inside of the card it speaks of the "miracles of our heart" and I knew that this was the perfect card for me to get. His heart surgery really was a miracle. So, I bought a few things and the card. Later that day, when Michael was resting after his day at school, I got the card out to sign it, and the front read, "To My Wife". How could I have made such a mistake? I must have put the card back and picked the one behind it and not noticed. The next morning I decided I had to take the card back and see if I could find my "perfect" card. There was only one left. The sales lady was really nice about it and let me swap out the two cards. That afternoon when Michael was busy in the other room I decided to put all his goodies and his card in a nice bag. When I got to the bottom of the shopping bag, there was my original card. So, it wasn't my mistake after all. The man checking out in front of me must have not picked up all his bags, so the cashier put some of the things that I bought, in the bag with his card, "To My Wife". I feel sorry for that poor man, who thinks he has a special card for his wife. He won't know where the card disappeared to, so he won't be able to explain it to his wife. For all you men out there who think you bought a card for your wife, please go look in the bag and make sure you have it. And for all you ladies, if your husband tries to tell you that he really did buy you a card, he just can't find it, please be patient with him. The Bible verse says, "Herein is our love made perfect." In ourselves, we are far from perfection. God's love for us is perfect, and we have some days when it seems like our love for others is perfect. But, there are some days that our patience grows thin, and we struggle to be longsuffering and kind. Let's strive to love one another more, our spouses, our children, our family, and our neighbors. Everyone could use more love!
"7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." (I John 4:7-11)
10. A Song In My Heart
Pastor Tripp has been preaching from the book of Psalms and Wednesday his text was Psalm 92, which begins, "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night," (Psalm 92:1-2) In these first two verses we see that it is good to give thanks and sing unto the Lord in the morning and at night. It is great to begin our day praising our Lord for His lovingkindness. And the Psalmist tells us to end our day praising Him for His faithfulness. I have missed singing praises at church, but I get such a blessing when I am singing to the Lord, just me and my Lord. There have been many times when I was driving and I began singing and I got so blessed praising my Savior. There have also been times when no one else was home and I sat down to practice the piano, and I started playing and old hymn, like "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior" or "I Need Thee Every Hour", and God touched my heart with thankfulness. It is a joy when we can sing with other Christians and share the song in our heart, but it is also a joy to sing just to the Lord. Paul said, "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;" (Ephesians 5:19-20) Pastor Tripp reminded us that we can sing even during difficult times. Jesus knew He was going to give His life on the cross, and yet they sang. "And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives." (Matthew 26:30) Paul and Silas also sang while they were in prison. "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them." (Acts 16:25) These are difficult times, but don't let that rob you of the song in your heart.
11. How Is Your Heart?
I remembered Pastor Tripp preaching a sermon on our heart quite some time ago and when I asked him about it, he shared his notes with me. I want to share his outline over the next few days. "The Description Of The Heart" can be discouraging, and "The Diseases Of The Heart" can be depressing. But, we can be encouraged when we finish with "The Divine Work In The Heart For Revival". Thank you, Pastor Tripp for sharing your outline with us.
1. The Description Of The Heart
A. Fountain of Life -
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." (Proverbs 4:23)"For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:" (Matthew 15:19)B. Fully Set For Evil -
"Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." (Ecclesiastes 8:11)C. Foolish -
"Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him." (Proverbs 22:15)D. Far From God -
"This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me." (Matthew 15:8)12. How Is Your Heart? - Diseases Of The Heart
We did not have church service Sunday morning but Pastor Jack Tripp uploaded a sermon on "How Is Your Heart?" using the notes he shared with me. We saw in the first part, "The Description Of The Heart" how important it is to have our hearts in tune with God. Jesus said in Matthew 15:8, "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me." Today we will see "The Diseases Of The Heart". Michael had many doctors and surgeons that worked to help him with his heart disease in December. The Bible tells us that we can find heart disease in the spiritual realm also. Only the Lord can mend a heart with spiritual heart disease.
A. Faint Heartedness -
"For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim." (Lamentations 5:17) This can cause us to lose courage and want to give up. We come to the point of asking, "What's The Use?"B. Cold Heartedness -
"And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." (Matthew 24:12) People become cold toward the Lord, and cold towards brothers and sisters in Christ.C. Half-heartedness -
"Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images." (Hosea 10:2) The prophet was speaking of people who were trying to serve God and their false gods. Jesus tells us "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Matthew 6:24) We also have the great commandment, "...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,..." (Luke 10:27)D. Hard Heartedness -
Twice in the book of Hebrews the writer tells us to "Harden not your hearts..." (Hebrews 3:8 & 15) Difficult times can cause us to become "hard" towards God and towards others. Tomorrow we hope to look at "The Divine Work In The Heart".13. How Is Your Heart? - The Divine Work In The Heart
The spiritual problems of our heart can only be fixed by God Almighty. We have come to the last portion of Pastor Tripp's sermon where we find "The Divine Work In The Heart."
A. The Lord must open some hearts. -
"And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul." (Acts 16:14B. The Lord must fix some hearts. -
"My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise." (Psalm 57:7)C. The Lord must fill some hearts. -
"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;" (Ephesians 5:18)D. The Lord must warm some hearts. -
"And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" (Luke 24:32)E. The Lord must crush some hearts. -
"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." (Isaiah 57:15) "Contrite" means to crush or bruise.Conclusion -
We must yield our heart. -
"My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways." (Proverbs 23:26)Face the issues. -
"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:" (Psalm 139:23)"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)14. I Want My Heart To Be Filled With The Spirit
As we look at the last few devotionals in this series, "My Heart Is Full", I want to mention some of the things that I want to fill my heart. Today, first of all, I want my heart to be filled with the Spirit. "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10) Ephesians 5:18 tells us, "... be filled with the Spirit;" If we are filled with the Spirit, then we will bear the fruit of the Spirit. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23) There are some that say that bearing fruit comes naturally. An apple tree doesn't ask to bear apples, but it just does what comes naturally. With this analogy they say that we shouldn't pray for the fruit of the Spirit. But I know that there have been times when I asked the Lord to give me more love for some individuals that I knew. And the Lord heard and answered those prayers. In the same Psalm that we opened with, we see that David prayed for joy. "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit." (Psalm 51:12) We are also told in the scriptures to pray for peace. (Psalm 122:6 and Jeremiah 29:7) Paul mentions some of these attributes again in Colossians 3:12-13, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." I pray and ask the Lord to fill me with His Spirit. I want to bear fruit for my loving Savior.
"4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." (John 15:4-8)
15. I Want My Heart To Be Filled With Wisdom
When my children were young I constantly prayed that God would give me wisdom to bring them up in the right way. It is my desire that my heart be filled with the wisdom of God. I believe that wisdom of the heart goes way beyond common knowledge. It is not only the knowledge and ability to do something, but I believe this God given wisdom also shows us when and even when not to do something. In preparing for the tabernacle God used "wise hearted" men and women "whose heart stirred them up in wisdom." "And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it:" (Exous 36:2) "And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair." (Exodus 35:26) And we read that King Solomon, who was the wisest man on earth, received his wisdom in his heart from God. "And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart." (I Kings 10:24) In the New Testament we are told to seek wisdom from God. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5) We all need the wisdom of God in our hearts during these dark days.
16. I Want My Heart To Be Filled With Righteousness
In addition to my heart being filled with the Spirit and all that it entails, love, joy, peace, etc., and having a heart filled with wisdom, I also want my heart to be filled with righteousness. We have no righteousness in ourselves. "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (Isaiah 64:6) We can only have righteousness in our heart when we believe on Jesus and ask Him to save us from our sin. "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:22-23) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9-10) We can trade our filthy rags for a robe of righteousness. "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." (Isaiah 61:10) With all the sin that's in the world today it makes us hunger and thirst after the righteousness of Christ, and He promises that we can be filled. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6) "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33) It would be a terrible thing to have to stand before God in judgment if I didn't have the righteousness of Christ in my heart!
17. God Sees Our Heart
Many times we feel like others are judging us by the way we look, or dress, or by our possessions, (or lack thereof) or by what we believe. Friends or family may turn away from us or against us and we don't even know what we did to upset them. But, isn't it good to know that God sees our heart. David was king over Israel, but as a youth he was misjudged by Samuel and also by his family. I am sharing a devotional that I wrote several years ago.
After the Lord rejected Saul from being king over Israel He sent Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint a new king from the sons of Jesse. As Samuel looked at Eliab he thought that surely this was going to be the new king. "But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." Eliab was the oldest son. He was tall. He was army qualified. He looked like he would make a good king, but the Lord said he was not the one. Seven of Jesse's sons passed by Samuel and the Lord did not choose either one. There was one son, a young shepherd boy, left and Samuel said "Send and fetch him..." (I Samuel 16:11) Jesse did not think him capable of being the new king, he had not even called him when Samuel came to town. We can read what the Lord thought of David in Acts 13:22, "And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will." Those who tried to judge David by his outward appearance misjudged him. We see Eliab and David again in the next chapter. Eliab went to battle and Jesse sent David to carry food to the army. We can see a little of Eliab's heart in I Samuel 17:28 "And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle." David followed his father's orders and he was still misjudged. Sometimes we do just what we are supposed to do and others judge us falsely. I guess my point today is, God looks on your heart. Try not to get discouraged if people judge you by the way you look, God doesn't judge you by your height, or your skin color, or by how you look. God sees your heart. If you are following God in your heart, don't worry about what others will think. Just keep keep trusting in Him.
