A Good Heart

St. Valentine’s day makes me think of the finest candy, in beautiful, heart-shaped boxes.  2 Chronicles 16:9 is one of the first promises in the Bible that really grabbed my heart.  It reads:

“The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth, that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” 

God is looking for those whose who have hearts that are completely devoted to Him, literally: hearts that are blameless.  The great promise here is that the Lord will work in a powerful way in and for those who have good hearts towards Him.  The Bible has much to say on this subject.  In Scripture, a good heart is one that has discovered the reality of God’s grace, and continually seeks to experience more of it.  A good heart depends on God for everything; it looks to Him for all that is needed to live in a way that pleases Him.  A good heart knows that there is nothing good in it, except what comes from God.  In Acts 11:23 we discover what is the essence of a good, sincere heart: “When (Barnabas) had come and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord.”  As a result of the mighty working of the Lord in their midst, these people had turned to Him.  When Barnabas arrived, he recognised that God’s grace was the cause of this great change.  He exhorted them all to let His grace continue its work in their hearts.  There in Antioch, in the first century A.D., the Lord had found some people with good hearts, whom He could strongly support.  He is still searching in the twenty-first century.  I will continue to explore this subject tomorrow.