The Direction of Our Heart

 Our heart is who we are as a person. It is our innermost being. We can focus our heart and our life on the right things or on the wrong things. The direction of our heart determines the effectiveness of our life. If we are focused on the wrong things, we will not have success and be blessed by God. Therefore, we need to make sure we keep our heart turned toward the Lord at all times.

Solomon made a critical error in his life by disobeying God's clear command not to marry pagan wives. His pagan wives turned his heart away from God to idols. (I Kings 11:9) The Lord was very angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from Him, the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to Solomon twice. If this could happen to Solomon, it can happen to any of us, as believers, if we do not guard against it.

God's commands are given to us to set us free from the sins that will harm us. They are not given to restrict us from anything good. We are tempted by the world, the flesh, and the devil to turn our hearts away from God, and to break His commands. They try to convince us that we are missing out on life by being obedient to God. We must draw near to God when the temptations come and resist Satan, so He will flee from us. If we don't, God will be very angry with us, too.

All of us must learn how to keep the direction of our hearts toward the Lord and not away from God. I have found that it takes a daily walk with the Lord to ensure our hearts are directed to the Lord. The mornings are so important. If we don't direct our hearts to God at the beginning of the day, we will be easily redirected by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Then, we need to meditate on God's Word and pray without ceasing all day long. If we will do these things and worship only the Lord, we won't turn away from God and incur His wrath, but we will be blessed.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read I Kings 12-14.