After the Lord’s Heart – Where Is It Found?
How Was It Kept?
One does not have to watch too many heart surgery videos – even the animated type – to want to avoid heart surgery. Having been a pastor for some time, I have been astonished with the skills of all sorts of surgeons. Numerous members have had open-heart surgery. Some have had heart transplants. Studying the human body and all of its intricacies reminds us, as King David wrote, “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.” (Ps. 139:14) When I consider the medical skills and technologies available today, I also think, “I am fearfully and wonderfully re-made!” […or at least “re-paired.”]
Physically, we cannot always avoid heart surgery. Sometimes we have accidents, or we have genetic predispositions that require surgery. But we know we can do many things to improve our health and therefore avoid surgery.
When God called the Israelites out of Egypt, during the Exodus, it was no easy journey. I often think about how difficult it would be to remain steadfast while wandering in a desolate place day after day, eating primarily the same diet for years and years. God lamented to Moses that the people “had put Me to the test 10 times.” (Numbers 14:22). And that comment was made in the early part of the journey.
God repeated the 10 Commandments in Deuteronomy, the title meaning “second law.” After the 10 Commandments were repeated, God said these words to Moses: “If only they had such a heart in them, to fear Me and keep all My commandments always, so that it would go well with them and with their sons forever!” (Deuteronomy 5:29)
It’s an interesting quote. By saying “had such a heart,” God is reminding us that obedience flows from faith, from a faithful heart. And He is also stating an extreme superlative: “keep all my commandments always.…” And then He adds “so that it would go well with them and with their sons forever!”
From God’s perspective, obviously, sin is foolish. Sin kills both the spirit and eventually a body. Sin was foolish when it was first conceived – I mean, Adam and Eve had everything, every single plant, grain, vegetable, fruit, except the one. We, too, have difficulty saying no or being obedient in similar simple or mundane daily experiences. A covetous glance, a judgmental thought, an outburst of anger – these are, in fact, all manageable for people of faith.
Yet, using God’s standard of measurement above, we are not going to live up to the “all” or “always.” It comes from the phrase “a heart in them, to fear Me.…” “Fear” in Scripture is directly related to faith. It comes first from “fearing God,” believing that there is a God and realizing that He is greater than any of us and can place demands upon us. The second aspect of that fear is to be aware that we cannot keep those commands which He expects us to keep “all & always. ” We simply cannot do it. Yet He can hold us accountable for breaking them, and we fear His Judgment. But the third and final freeing aspect of “the fear of God” is that God is gracious! “But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.” (Ps. 130:4) To fully understand that verse we have to look at the cross. “For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son.” That is fearful forgiveness! God chose me over Jesus! God chose you over Jesus! Jesus chose us over Himself. And the Holy Spirit gives us the gift of believed at! Awesome! Fearful! What a God we have!
Believing that truth is how we “get such a heart” to fear God and have blessings “forever.”
Prayer: Lord, we are fearfully and wonderfully made! We pray that we would understand that sin harms us, and we ask for the strength to avoid sin. We also know that we cannot avoid it all. And so we pray that You would continue to bless us with a heart to fear You, to fear judgment, and to revere Your forgiveness. In Your name we pray. Amen
