“…The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7, NIV)
The heart that God sees is made up of our thoughts, attitudes and our motives. So what does He see in me?
As I reflect on this passage of scripture I ask myself, am I authentic? Do I really place my trust in Jesus Christ? I really don’t know God and all His ways all that well. But, trust, I must. Why? Because He sees me, the real me. So, why try to fool Him? And, others?
Does my heart and actions line up with how He sees it? If not, I am in need of an undivided heart so that I can please Him. I guess my new clothes and jewelry just won’t cut it? Not even my new purple shoes! I am now looking at them and they do look awful pretty to me.
It sure seems easy to dance around in new clothes, jewelry, and even a new home. Yet, better, a big bright new car. Maybe I can go on a whopping vacation and disguise my non-authentic Coach purse. A woman of great wisdom said to me this week in a teaching, ‘if you were to take away their jewelry, clothes, house, vacation and job, what would you talk about with them? Would there be anyone home in them that you knew?
I thought about this and the only answer I could come up with for myself was, trust Jesus Christ, even though in many ways He is a stranger to me. He may yet draw some greatness out of me that I didn’t even know was there. Hope in trust when the trustee is a reliable source. Selah! Where am I on my journey? Yes, The Heart, He sees!
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It’s true that maybe we don’t know Jesus the way John knew Jesus or Paul knew Him, physically and in the SPIRIT, but that is where our faith comes in. ” Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, the reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your soul.” 1Pet. 1:8-9.
So He may be a Stranger to me in many ways, because there is still so much more to learn about the Lord Jesus Christ…an eternity of knowledge and understanding and truth. But if I keep a pure heart before Him….when the doubt or fear or conflict arises in my heart with another brother or sister….I pray that psalm…”create in me a clean heart and renew a RIGHT SPIRIT within me.”
It’s so true what Sara writes above…what’s the use of faking it or LYING or feigning it when Jesus is looking right at my heart. He knew an eon ago what I would think in my heart about whatever there is there now. Thank God for repentance and the Mercy Seat.
I have often heard the expression, “home is where the heart is”. So the question above, “Would there be anyone home in them that you knew?” makes me think that if the object of our attention is things and that is where our heart is, then that is what our home will be. And Luke 12:34 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” So if God is looking at my heart then He is seeing what I treasure…what’s really first priority. I guess our treasures act like a GPS tracking system and show where and who we are.
Interesting thoughts, MG and Debi…if God looks at the heart it would seem to me if we want to know Him better we should have heart to heart talks. What do think?
I think you are right. One definition of ‘heart-to-heart’ is:
“openly straightforward and direct without reserve or secretiveness”. I think this is a good idea, especially after reading this scripture this am which says, “…in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.” I don’t think I can have any secrets from God if He sees my heart, so if I learn to know Him better through heart to heart than it seems we may be bale to stand before Him on that Day with joy, gratitude, love and appreciation.
There does seem to be hope for us who feel we “don’t know all His ways all that well” as Sara lamented above. For The Lord said of David that ‘he was a man after God’s own heart.’ Now this is not to excuse misdeeds and disobedience, etc. but David did mess up a bit in his life as told in the Old Testament Bible. But God saw his heart. His heart was full of worship and praise and thanksgiving and REPENTANCE ie. acknowledgement of sin before the Lord.
So the Bible, the Psalms, bring great encouragement for us who love the Lord with at least most of our heart. Therein lies the rub. If our hearts are united, integrated, not keeping pet secrets (sins) that we think the Lord will not know or see as Debi intimated above and not reserving certain chambers of our hearts for something held in higher esteem or favor or PRIORITY than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…then we can begin to expose our inner thoughts, motives and secrets of the heart to the Lord and be cleansed from them. Oh that we could stand before the Lord like Debi said, on that day, with love, gratitude and a pure heart. It won’t be long, now!
As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man. Prov. 27:19.
Our hearts reflect our character, our motives, our intentions, our agendas and our attitudes. The sacred Heart of Jesus is pure and holy. The intention of His heart is only for good. So, If our hearts are deceptive we must have the courage to find out why we are deceptive in our hearts. Is it for personal aggrandizement? Is it so that we can remain in control of a situation(s) or that we can do it our way and not be accountable to anyone in certain instances? If we are to have a heart to heart with Jesus Christ…Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment and are in agreement?” Amos 3:3.
From reading the blog again, trust in the Lord seems to be the bedrock of a whole heart and the opposite, doubt and unbelief, look like they create a big fissure of division. If I understand James 1 correctly, doubt makes us double-minded and being double-minded leads to instability, mentally and spiritually, and I don’t think that is a heart that has wholeness.
Deut. 4:29 “… if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.”and 6:5 of Deut. “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” AND:
Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
Folks, this is work as I see it!
In Malachi 2: 2 it read(Amplified Bible)
2If you will not hear and if you will not lay it to heart to give glory to My name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yes, I have already turned them to curses because you do not lay it to heart.
Therefore if we want the warmth of God’s heart towards us we will draw closer to him. The consequence/s of not doing this is devastating. Give glory and honor to God by coming into a close relationship with Him. Walk with Him, Talk with Him, and Sing of His glorious Ways. Read of His Ways and know they are good for Life’s Way . He will imbrace you and call you a child of the King of KINGS.
In reading Rena’s scripture and words I see a brown bag holding it all saying, “Obedience”….
True: either you are or you ain’t (obedient). I heard someone quote, “the 10 “Commandments” are NOT the “10 Suggestions.” God is pretty clear about His principles of obedience and worship. What is it about “THOU SHALT NOT” that I DON”T UNDERSTAND? And He will know by looking at my heart. It’s in there.
I believe the last question/sentence in the footnotes, for 1 Samuel 16:7 sums up what I need to be focused on. Read with me: “Saul was tall and handsome; he was an impressive-looking man. Samuel may have been trying to find someone who looked like Saul to be Israel’s next king, but God warned him against judging by appearance alone. When people judge by outward appearance, they may overlook quality individuals who lack the particular physical qualities society currently admires. Appearance doesn’t reveal what people are really like or what their true value is. Fortunately, God judges by faith and character, not appearances. And because only God can see on the inside, only he can accurately judge people. Most people spend hours each week maintaining their outward appearance; they should do even more to develop their inner character. While everyone can see your face, only you and God know what your heart really looks like. What steps are you taking to improve your heart’s attitude?”
Needles writes, “What steps are you taking to improve your heart’s attitude?” Pretty steep steps @times. The mind says, its like mountain scaling. I have always heard “…there is something special about making the climb yourself to reach the pinnacle. The higher the mountain, the tougher the climb. But, equally… the better the view!”
If I take the steps to improve my heart attitude I will look pretty good it seems. My outward garments will look like old worn rags next to my inward beauty which shines outward from within. Hey, this is cool! Takes time and a little scaling the mountain but cool! Hey, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord!