“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”Proverbs 4:23

“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

2 Chronicles 16:9a validates this wisdom to guard our hearts in order to stay fully committed to our Creator of hearts! Committed hearts are those who seek God, eagerly ready to listen with a willingness to trust, and obey.  It is these pure hearts who God is looking for and desires to bless with all they need for the journey with Him!  “The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

From His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reiterates this “heart truth” by preaching: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”. Matthew 5:8 

Jesus teaches that our hearts or more than a vital organ that pumps blood to keep us alive. Jesus teaches that our hearts are the core of human identity—the center from which our thoughts, desires, motives, and moral choices flow.  This is why pastors and teachers with wisdom who follow God’s Word warn us often to guard our hearts. Whatever we feed our hearts will come forth in our behaviors and will boomerang back upon us! Our hearts motivate and guide how we respond to God and to others whom He has created.  May Jesus be the center at the core; for it is Jesus who brought salvation to our hearts, minds, and souls.  God’s Holy Spirit was sent to guide our hearts to all Truth. Listen to Him.

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”—Jesus, John 16:13, NIV

Prayerfully consider—

• What is the condition of our hearts? 
• What responses and reactions will boomerang back to us?  Love or hate?  Kind affection or arrogance?  Wicked manipulations or hearts of service?

Know this: God knows our hearts.  We are not hiding anything from Him. This can be comforting or frightening.  If fear comes; surrender.

Surrender to God is the Way to purify our hearts.  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, says Paul to the church then and is applicable to us now. (Romans 3:23) God made a Way through the sacrifice of His Son to purify our hearts.  His name is Jesus.  Jesus’ blood purifies and God’s Holy Spirit of Truth immediately moves into our hearts to refine us. Oh, what a Savior!  Thank you, Father God for your Plan to save us and make us whole and wholly committed to You!

“Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:31) This was the heart cry of all the ancients, Jesus’ apostles and disciples. Believe and accept that Jesus is the Son of God who died for our sins and rose again.  It is by His grace alone that we are saved and given eternal life! Then LIVE as redeemed people with fully committed hearts who long for the day to see Him face to face in all His glory!  There is nothing God will not forgive. No one is like our God!

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Come to Him now! Surrendered hearts are purified, refined and blessed by God!  May Jesus be Lord of our lives today.  Jesus already reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords forever, a title given to Him by God! (Philippians 2)

So, don’t be discouraged by the world around us who are not committed.  The psalm writer of our song of the day felt surrounded by people who did not seek after God. He rejoiced that God would protect and care for the righteous who sought to walk with God.

Psalm 94, The Message

^1-2 God, put an end to evil;
    avenging God, show your colors!
Judge of the earth, take your stand;
    throw the book at the arrogant.

^3-4 God, the wicked get away with murder—
    how long will you let this go on?
They brag and boast
    and crow about their crimes!

^5-7 They walk all over your people, God,
    exploit and abuse your precious people.
They take out anyone who gets in their way;
    if they can’t use them, they kill them.
They think, “God isn’t looking,
    Jacob’s God is out to lunch.”

^8-11 Well, think again, you idiots,
    fools—how long before you get smart?
Do you think Ear-Maker doesn’t hear,
    Eye-Shaper doesn’t see?
Do you think the trainer of nations doesn’t correct,
    the teacher of Adam doesn’t know?
God knows, all right—
    knows your stupidity,
    sees your shallowness.

^12-15 How blessed the man you train, God,
    the woman you instruct in your Word,
Providing a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil,
    while a jail is being built for the wicked.
God will never walk away from his people,
    never desert his precious people.
Rest assured that justice is on its way
    and every good heart put right.

^16-19 Who stood up for me against the wicked?
    Who took my side against evil workers?
If God hadn’t been there for me,
    I never would have made it.
The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,”
    your love, God, took hold and held me fast.
When I was upset and beside myself,
    you calmed me down and cheered me up.

^20-23 Can Misrule have anything in common with you?
    Can Troublemaker pretend to be on your side?
They ganged up on good people,
    plotted behind the backs of the innocent.
But God became my hideout,
    God was my high mountain retreat,
Then boomeranged their evil back on them:
    for their evil ways he wiped them out,
    our God cleaned them out for good.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

It is easy to grow weary and discouraged when we are surrounded by those who do not seek God. But God promises to be a shelter to those who are his children.  Our identity is in Jesus, whom God provided as our Rescue and Savior.  It is Jesus who gave us a new relationship with God that surpasses all understanding—an intimate, growing, loving, forever faithful relationship that lasts through all eternity!

Believe Truth as we read, contemplate, and pray—try not to put faces/names on our own enemies of arrogance, evil and pride as we read.  Pray for them instead.  Truth is, God knows and God is the One and Only Judge. We are not.

Lord,

Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds, transform our thinking, refresh our souls with your new tender mercies, and restore the joy of your salvation at work with us to refine us and purify us.

In Jesus Name, Amen