Daily Devotion
The Lord Looks On The Heart
By: Marissa Wolf
“But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7
In today’s world it can be all so easy to hyperfocus on the outward appearance whether it’s that of our own or that of others. Comparison likes to make its appearance and likes to lead us into doubt, discontentment, despair, and even depression to name a few things, but God calls us to be content in all things. (See: 1 Timothy 6:6). It can be so easy to compare us to where we were a year or even years ago or compare ourselves with others. We aren’t supposed to get caught up in the field of comparison. God wants us to be like Him! Not trying to be like other Christians or even other unbelievers, but to be holy as He is holy. (See: 1 Peter 1:14-16). We always tend to see how man sees, we don’t always see things how God does.
God continually looks at our hearts. Our hearts are precious to Him and He alone created our hearts. We are called to not only love the Lord our God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, but we are also called to trust in the Lord with our whole heart at all times. (See: Mark 12:29-33 and Psalm 62:8). Our hearts are desperately wicked and they can lead us astray from the Lord. (See: Jeremiah 17:9-10). This is why we are called to guard our hearts and to not follow after them, but to follow after God alone. (See: Proverbs 4:23 and Matthew 16:24). For out of the heart proceeds many wicked things, and out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (See: Matthew 12:34 and Matthew 15:18-20).
Our hearts are longing for salvation. (See: Psalm 119:174). Salvation is the Lord’s gift for us. It is not something that we can get or do on our own or to seek it outside of Christ. We have the choice whether or not we want to choose to accept His gift of salvation. (See: Ephesians 2:8-9 and Acts 4:12). When we do accept the Lord’s gift of salvation, we are given a new and clean heart and spirit. (See: Psalm 51:10). We must repent of the old and sinful ways and go and sin no more. (See: Acts 3:19). We must die to the flesh, be crucified with Christ, and be born again! In order to be born again, we must call on the name of the Lord to save us and believe in our hearts that God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins and that God raised Him from the dead. (See: Galatians 2:20, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 10:13, Romans 10:8-9 and John 3:16-17). This is not a one-and-done thing, but a lifestyle of continually choosing to follow and serve Christ every single day. We are to now continually deny our flesh, pick up our cross daily, and follow God so that we can keep walking in the Spirit! (See: Joshua 24:15, Luke 9:23, and Galatians 5:16-26).
Our hearts can tend to readily make room for idols to live inside them, an idol isn’t always resembling the cliché golden statue. (See: Leviticus 26:1). Sometimes an idol can appear as something healthy, but ends up being exalted highly above God such as family, your career, your friends, your pets, scrolling on your phone, spending too much time on a certain hobby, chasing after a dream too much and not surrendering these things to the Lord, etcetera. It could also represent something entirely sinful. Sometimes we try so hard to follow after the desires of our own heart, that we often forget to surrender the desires of our heart to God and let Him lead the way for us. (See: James 4:7-10). Our desires should align with His desires for us. We often forget that we can’t do these things on our own, for without God we can do nothing. (See: John 15:5). We need God’s will, God’s way, God’s timing, God’s plan over our own will, way, timing, and plan. Less chasing after our own desires, and more surrendering our own desires into His hands. Our God is a jealous God and we are to have no other gods, but Him alone! (See: Exodus 20:3-5). God is sovereign over everything. We are to continually delight in the Lord on a daily basis, seek Him and all His righteousness first, and then all of these things shall be added onto you including the desires of your heart. (See: Psalm 37:4 and Matthew 6:33).
It can be so easy to be right in our own eyes, but we are called to not be wise in our own eyes nor our own understanding. In all our ways we are to acknowledge Him and let Him direct our paths. (See: Proverbs 21:2 and Proverbs 3:5-7). The Lord searches our hearts and He sees what kinds of fruits we are doing. Are we doing the fruits of the Spirit or are our fruits rotten or mixed? If our fruits are mixed, we have to check our hearts to see if we’ve become double-minded and repent if we have. It is important that we also repent when our fruits are rotten.
Reading the Bible and praying daily is not merely a routine that we should treat like a daily checklist item… The truth of the matter is that when we read the Bible, we should be letting it read us. It is a tool that God has given us to check our hearts and see where we’re at in our relationship with the Lord. God’s word is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart! (See: Hebrews 4:12). We must ask the Lord to examine, know, and test our hearts to get us in tune with Him. It certainly will not always come easily, but Jesus said that he who endures to the end shall be saved! (See: Matthew 24:13). If our hearts are looking more like the world, it’s time to dive into the word of God and figure out what’s going on. (See: Romans 12:1-2 and 1 John 2:15-17). It’s sort of like when you have trouble with an appliance or something similar, the first place you might turn is to the instruction manual to see if you can find the problem. God’s word is the instruction manual for life! Some have used the phrase, “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth” which is a fun way to think about it. God examines the heart and He’s given us His word to comfort, correct us where we’re wrong, chasten and rebuke us as needed, and lead us on the narrow path. (See: Matthew 7:13-14). For His word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. (See: Psalm 119:105).
Are you letting the Lord fully direct your steps? Is there anything in your heart that is taking precedence over God having your whole heart? If you have a void in your heart, have you ever considered accepting the Lord’s gift of salvation? Is there any earthly comparison that you need to bring to the Lord and repent of? Is your goal to be holy as God is holy in all things? When was the last time you’ve done a heart check to see if you have any heart problems that you need to bring to the Lord and repent of? Is your heart looking more like the world or like Christ? What do you choose to follow more is it your heart or God? Have you fully surrendered everything to God?
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”
Matthew 5:8
