Day 9 - Measure of A Heart

1 Samuel 16:7 and Matthew 15:18

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.'

'But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.'

So, what should be in our hearts?

STRENGTH

HONOR

INTEGRITY

WISDOM

COMPASSION

FAITH

JUSTICE

PATIENCE

LOVE

PERSEVERANCE

HUMILITY

DISCERNMENT

King David, before he became king, exemplified all of these qualities. Even after he became king, he maintained all of these; though there were times when he backslid, he did repent of his sin and turn back to God.

Job is an example to us of these qualities. As is Christ Himself. David and Job were just ordinary men who loved The Lord God with all their heart. They wanted to please God and make Him happy: they put Him first in their lives, not themselves.

What is in our hearts? Who are we trying to please? In America we are given the 'right to pursue happiness'. But with God we are given the ability to be happy. This happiness comes to us by putting God first in all our decision making. Regardless of our situation or circumstance, God is placed first. Not to our detriment but to His glory.

Psalm 1:1 says “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” The word 'Blessed' translates into happy. So we can then read the verse as such: Happy is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.

Happiness comes from placing God in the center of our lives, in the center of our well-being, in the center of our hearts; for the heart is where our seat of emotions sets. Who sits on the seat of our emotions? When we place God first in everything, including the safety of our souls, then God is sitting in our hearts. When we accept Christ as Lord, we are accepting Him as Lord of our lives, also. He is our 5-star General, our Supreme Commander. Where He leads us, we will follow.

Happiness has a face. It is the face of God. God looks on our hearts and His Holy Spirit discerns what is right and what is wrong, what is righteous and what is unrighteous, in our hearts. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our unrighteousness, that we may repent of our sin and turn away from it, asking Jesus to cover this, too, with His blood. The precious blood of Jesus which covers the sins of the whole world. God is not like mankind. He forgives all debt, all sins AND FORGETS THEM, TOO. People may forgive, but seldom do we forget. It is only when we receive true forgiveness from God that we are able to forgive; not only those who sin against us, who do us wrong, but able to forgive ourselves. To forgive our self is to be able to acknowledge that we have sinned against God in our ignorance and rebellion of and against His Word.

Psalm 1:2 “But his delight is in the law of The Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night.”

Happiness can be measured. God has a measuring rod: His Word. Obedience is a choice. We can choose to obey God or choose to disobey God. But if we want to be truly happy, we need to obey God. His Word is Love. His Word is Integrity. His Word is Strength. His Word is Honor. His Word is Perseverance. His Word is Wisdom. His Word is Faith. His Word is Justice. His Word is Patience. His Word is Humility. His Word is Discernment. When His Word is in our hearts, all of these qualities of character are also in our hearts.

Psalm 1:3 “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

Happiness can grow. As long as a person is eating and drinking The Word of God, that person can grow in spirit and be blessed by God both spiritually and physically. Proverbs 23:7a “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he”. Philippians 4:8 tells us what kind of things we should be thinking about: True, Honest, Pure, Lovely, Of Good Report, Virtue. If what we are thinking does not match up with what is stated in God's Word, then we are sinning against God. But if the things we think line up with God's Word, then our hearts will be at peace. For God is peace and it is this peace we need to have in our hearts, that our hearts may grow and prosper in the things of God.