By Not Known
(1) that a man’s heart is larger than a woman’s heart? (2) that the younger you are, the faster your heart beats?
(3) that the average heart beats 100,000 times, pumping about 2,000 gallons of blood everyday? (4) that if the heart does not pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs, you may feel tired or dizzy? Although the physical condition of the heart is critical, what is “inside” our heart is even more important.
The English dictionary describes the heart as (1) the source of one’s deepest and sincerest feelings and beliefs, (2) one’s capacity for compassion or generosity, (3) the will of man and lastly, as one’s conscience. Let’s look at the heart’s condition of three kings – Solomon, Saul, and David.
Saul, the first King of Israel, started his reign well but his actions revealed a heart that didn’t trust or obey God. Samuel told Saul to wait for him seven days in Gilgal but because Saul’s men feared the Philistines and began to scatter, Saul decided to make the offering himself (1 Sam 13). The Amalekites incident revealed Saul’s disobedient heart (1 Sam 15). Instead of obeying God’s instruction to destroy everything, Saul spared King Agag and the choicest animals. When confronted with his sin, Saul put the blame on his people. Saul’s life was also driven by jealousy. Instead of trusting God, he spent the rest of his life pursuing and trying to kill David. No heart.
During the first half of Solomon’s reign, his heart was fully devoted to the Lord. God appeared to him twice (I Ki 9:11). He built God’s temple and after the dedication of the temple, fire came down from heaven (2 Ch 7). During his reign, silver was as common as stones in Jerusalem (I Ki 10:27) and he had a breadth of understanding as measureless as sand on a seashore (I Ki 4:29). However, during the second half of his reign, he turned his heart away from the Lord. I Ki 11:4 says Solomon loved many foreign women… and his wives turned his heart after other gods; his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. Solomon only loved God with half of his heart! Half Heart.
David’s life was a portrait of success and failure but what made David a cut above the rest was that his heart was pointed toward God (Acts 13:22). Even as a young boy, David had great faith in God (fight with Goliath, 1 Sam 17). David loved God’s law and he meditated on it day and night (The Book of Psalms). David’s life was marked by seasons of great peace and prosperity as well as times of fear and despair. But through all seasons, he never forgot to thank the Lord for everything that he had. David was also humble and repentant. When Nathan confronted him about his sins, he admitted them and repented (2 Sam 11-12). Whole heart.
How’s your heart’s condition? If God appeared to you during the night and told you to ask Him for anything, what would you ask for? After writing this heart check article, I would ask God for a heart that’s pointed towards Him. How about you?
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt 6:21)
Agnes Tan