First the heart | The secret to a new relationship (2 Chronicles 28-34)
The thrill of the first date often includes butterflies flitting around in your stomach exhibiting both excitement and nervousness. Either think back to the first date you had with your spouse, or imagine a future first date with a future spouse; so many emotions are wrapped up in that short blip of time. The feelings from that date often lead you either into a deeper relationship or into a different relationship. First the heart, then the relationship.
God’s original design for marriage represents something greater than itself. It serves as a projector, taking something and seeing it in a bigger picture with more light. Our relationship with God is the bigger picture to seek after first in order for a healthy God-glorifying marriage to be possible.
It’s never too late to start….
Different life experiences…
We all have walked different paths to arrive at where we are today. So many different variations and defining events; some have golden childhoods with luxury and talents galore, others have suppressed the bad memories to cling to only the good, yet others have vivid memories of tragic abuses.
However, God looks at the individual heart, not the pattern of sins from the genealogy we stem from. Ahaz was king and was evil. He came from a father who was upright. The pendulum swung not because of anything his father had done, but because of his personal choice.
Ahaz had a son who succeeded him as king, Hezekiah, yet we see he was very humble and walked with the Lord. Another pendulum swing. After Hezekiah died, his son took over after and he did evil in the eyes of the Lord and humbled himself later on when facing extreme trials.
The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
Ezekiel 18:20
How do you know?
How do you know? What leads you to believe someone is right with God?
While there are some who use God for gain, power, money, or notoriety, their motives often appear (eventually) to those with discerning eyes. They can fleece a lot of people, though, with a life that seems aligned with God. It is heartbreaking to hear of a pastor you thought was walking uprightly with the Lord who decided to secretly live in continual sin without repentance.
Yet, God gives us guidance to help us discern. While not failproof, we can often tell by fruit and verbiage if first the heart is right.
First things first. When a leader steps into office, their first steps will often point to a deeper representation. With Hezekiah, his first actions represented his heart motives. Do the leaders in your life represent Biblical values… Share on XIn the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. … They began to consecrate on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. Then for eight days they consecrated the house of the Lord, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.
2 Chronicles 29:3,17, emphasis added
First things first. When a leader steps into office, their first steps will often point to a deeper representation. With Hezekiah, his first actions represented his heart motives. Do the leaders in your life represent Biblical values and the upmost concern for the people under their care?
Secrets in the dark…
When a secret life is exposed, it can produce a lot of uncomfortable feelings, particularly if you trusted them. Yet, God wants secrets in the dark to be brought into light. It can make or break a true relationship.
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
Galations 6:7
This is one of the most powerful verses in all of scripture. Take a moment to reflect on it. God is not mocked.
Throughout the entirety of the Old and New Testaments, God responds to humility. A humble heart requesting forgiveness is well-received.
“For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”
2 Chronicles 30:9, emphasis added
For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness.” And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.
2 Chronicles 30:18b-20, emphasis added
This understanding is rooted in our foundational beliefs about God’s sovereignty. He is the supreme ruler, He created the earth, He offers us salvation and eternal life through the life, death, and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ.
Some questions to ponder. Do you think that we can mock God with unrepentant hearts and a facade of living like a Christian, that they are somehow hidden from the God of the universe? Or do you believe in His ultimate sovereignty and that He cannot be mocked?
First the heart…
In babies, first the heart is developed, then the rest of the body. Our heart pumps the lifeblood through our bodies. When you journey through this life, take time to notice the little things. A heart is also a picture projected onto a huge screen for us to see the hand of God. Not only in the miraculous creation of life, but also in imagery. A heart represents what must be aligned with God first to enter into salvation and eternal life.
If your heart stops beating, so also does life. Figuratively, if your heart is not beating for the Lord, it is not alive. God knows your heart, He cannot be mocked.
But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem. But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.
2 Chronicles 32:25-26
Hezekiah represents an upright man still fighting to live uprightly. He did not continue in sin, but with humility, came before God. First the heart was right, then he ensured it stayed that way once threatened.
The heart of the relationship…
Reversing the bigger picture back into a more understandable analogy brings us back to marriage. You don’t have to be married to see what God designed because He lays it out for us.
Picture if you will, an ideal man and woman on their first date. Their courtship begins with a pleasant encounter so they decide to move forward to see if a deeper relationship should be sought.
Their hearts aren’t at ‘love’ yet, but they recognize the possibility. As they continue dating, their love develops and is strengthened. When they truly love each other, they seal it with a commitment. A commitment they showcase to the world through vows, a ceremony, and symbolic rings. Their hearts are worn on their sleeves for all to see as they honor, love, and uphold each other through all battles they face, no matter the circumstances. Their love is good, all the time.
The outside world brings trials, temptations, and sin into their marriage, but they continually turn back to each other repenting of their grievances and sorrowful for the hurt they caused. Their love deepens as trust grows because their apologies were partnered with a change in behavior. You watch as their hearts truly seek out the best for the other, they want to bring honor to the other, not shame.
The marriage is defined because they continually chose love. Their choices reflected their heart motivations.
The heart of our relationship…
While that seems like the perfect spouse, it’s because it represents the perfect marriage between us and our Savior. First the heart, because the outpouring of our actions flows from our heart motivations.
Just like a married couple, we need to know who we are in love with or there isn’t true love there after all. It is a mockery of God to not seek Him. I don’t say that lightly as it is a strong claim. Yet, looking through the whole Bible, it is a constant. It is continually stated to seek God, know Him, search the words He gifted us.
You cannot truly love someone if you do not know them. You can love things about them and we border on that false sense of love if we stop our relationship from moving past that point. Your Bible should not be an afterthought,… Share on XYou cannot truly love someone if you do not know them. You can love things about them and we border on that false sense of love if we stop our relationship from moving past that point.
Your Bible should not be an afterthought, because it is the glue that binds your heart to God.
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How wonderful and yet sobering to realize that every thought and intent of the heart is known by God!
Definitely instilled a monumental change in my heart when that truth was recognized in my own life!