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.
