It’s A Heart Matter

“You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”  Psalm 51:16-17 NIV

What does the Lord desire?

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 NIV

The psalmist, King David in this case, has identified what the Lord desires and is pleading with the Lord to help him attain exactly that: His heart.

The Lord desires our hearts. It’s really that simple. Our love for him must not feel like an obligation, as he is our Lord and God – he deserves it.  We owe it to him for the grace he provided all, through the selfless act of sacrificing his son and our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus on the cross at Calvary.

It is written:

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 NIV

This scripture describes how the Lord instructed Samuel to anoint Israel’s next king – David. The same David who authored so many of the psalms we see in the Bible, the same David who committed murder, adultery, and many other acts against our Lord’s will.  Yet, the Lord honored David, as he knew David’s heart. That same heart was always for the Lord. David is known as, “a man after the God’s own heart”

Why is this so important to our Lord?

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Matt 6:21 NIV

The Lord is our treasure! He desires to be our main focus, as he loves us with a love that is above all other loves you’ll ever know. It is nearly impossible for us to understand that type of unconditional love – as we cannot have it without Him!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 NIV

Which one of us is capable of that type of love? None of us, without Him!  Why is that?

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:8 NIV

There is no love without God, for love starts with us having a heart for him. It is our Lord’s desire to protect us from anything that would take our focus off of him, to guard our hearts so we can enjoy the treasure that is Him and His Son – our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To shed a little light on just how important that focus on him is, Jesus says this:

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world..” John 17:24 NIV

The psalmist knew, and had a heart for our Lord. He knew to desire what we should all acknowledge; God wants us all to be with him to see the glory of his son and our Lord Christ Jesus!

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you – declares the Lord” Jeremiah 29:13-14a NIV

Commit your heart to the Lord always and you will find that Love that is HIM!

 

Barnabas

 

Special thanks to Barnabas for this guest submission.