DAY 146

HEART LONGING

1 Chronicles 28 & 29 and John 9:24-41

After many challenging chapters of “who is who in the zoo” we come to the end of David’s life, his assembling of many many key people, and his charge to Solomon. I was struck by how many times David referenced the “heart.”

“I (David) had it in my heart to build a house for the Ark of the Lord.”

“…Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart…”

“…for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought…”

“…they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord.”

“I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness…”

“…keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you…”

Elsewhere in 1 Samuel 13-14 we see God telling Samuel that he looks on the inside, to the heart, when He selects David. In Acts 13:22 we read the famous line that David was “a man after God’s own heart.”

To have a heart ordered by and beating in rhythm with God’s…what an amazing thought. Now you have read all about David’s life; his successes and his failures. He had some of each. The point in all this is that he was not perfect. Perfection is not the standard…an ordered heart is the goal.

As we come to the close of 1 Chronicles it seems to me that God is asking me to look at my heart. The other end of the spectrum is a verse from Isaiah, “These people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Isa. 29:13). Jesus quotes that in Matthew chapter 15 and it certainly seems to capture what he is experiencing in John chapter 9 that we finished today.

This post lands on a Sunday. Today I will be leading people in prayer and preaching a sermon…all with my lips…may my heart be close to God’s and beat with His rhythm to so bring Him glory.

***In trying to find an image today I kept thinking of dogs, dog’s hearts seek after their masters. So I went online looking: the image today is from a dog going to daily mass because his owner who has passed away was always there. Here is this dog, looking and longing, for his master***