Tag: whole heart

If God were to look at your heart and take only the portion that you have given to Him, how much would he take? Would you hand over 25% of your heart and say, “That’s enough God.” What about 50%? 75? Maybe 99.9%?

When the prophet Jeremiah wrote, “I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart,” the Israelites had sold out to idols. When we don’t give God our whole hearts, then we allow other things or people to creep in and we give them a higher place in our lives than God, making them our idol. But God wants our whole heart…not just a part of it. As such, we gives us a heart that seeks to know Him…not with a head-knowledge, but with a heart-knowledge.

Think for a moment to when you were dating the person to whom you are married. When the question of marriage was asked and she said yes it’s because you thought you knew each other and were in love. However, it doesn’t take too long of being married to know you still have lots to learn about each other. Marriage should then be a lifetime of learning heart-knowledge of the person you are married to. How do you gain that kind of knowledge? By spending time with that person, by studying them, by having meaningful conversations with them, by learning their expectations, by understanding what’s important to them.

Likewise, having a heart-knowledge of God requires the same. God wants us to have that kind of knowledge about Him so much that He gives us a heart that is always seeking Him. We often try to fill that place in our lives up with other things, such as relationships with other people, alcohol, drugs, pornography, hobbies, etc. when what are heart really longs for is a closely knit, intimate relationship with God. He wants us to know Him as a God that is gracious and merciful, a God that is slow to anger, a God that is eager to pardon our sins, a God abundant in goodness, a God that is the everlasting I Am and the unchangeable Jehovah. He is a God that keeps his promises. He is a God that is faithful, true, and wise. There is absolutely nothing that is impossible for Him to do, but He does all things for our good and through His omniscience. He is a God of everlasting and unconditional love. He comforts us, guides us, protects us.

Can you add to the list? In what intimate,personal ways have you experienced God in your life?