Heart for God

I was studying the biblical book of Daniel recently and was amazed at Daniel. I was amazed by several things:

  • His character
  • How God used him in his situation (See my article, Built up in the Faith.)
  • The gifts God gave him
  • His influence on the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezer
  • His stand against paganism and for the holiness of God.

Daniel’s Secret

I started wondering how Daniel got to be that way and it suddenly struck me. A verse I had memorized years ago out of 2 Chronicles 16 verse 9 popped into my head,

“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the Earth that he may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

That was it. I knew Daniel’s secret.1 Daniel’s heart was given completely to God!

Then I realized that I too could be a Daniel. Maybe not do the things he did -like interpret dreams or influence a king, but if my heart was given completely to God, He says that He would “strongly support” me. What would that be like to be strongly supported by the Creator of the universe?! Amazing! So that brings up two questions:

  1. How do I give my heart completely to God? and,
  2. What does it look like for God to strongly support me?

Heart for God

I can think of several things that might be involved in giving my heart to God.

  • I would first need to trust in Jesus. That is the initial act of giving my heart to God, resulting in salvation. Then, I need to keep on trusting.
  • Listening to His Spirit within me. The Spirit is given to us as a gift to lead us into fellowship with God, but never contradicting the Scriptures.
  • I would need to be concerned about what God is concerned about, such as: Truth; justice; and, mercy.

Then, God strongly supports me in several ways:

  • Giving me wisdom to navigate the paths of life.
  • Giving spiritual gifts and developing those gifts within me to minister to His body, the Church, and to minister to the world.
  • Providing opportunities to exercise the wisdom and gifting He has provided.

Heart Completely His

So what does it mean in 2 Chronicles 16:9 when it says, “heart completely His?” Some other translations say it this way: NIV- fully committed to him; ESV- blameless toward him; and, KJV- perfect toward him.2

“To be perfect is to refuse to harbor evil or mistrust; and to keep the whole nature open to God. His eyes miss no single soul that is right with Him. His eyes discover and His hand brings help. However lonely and obscure your life, and however weak your arm, if God is with you, huge hosts vanish.”3

In Proverbs 1:20-33, Wisdom is speaking, and in verse 23, He says,

“Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.”

So when we turn our hearts to God and submit to Him, God, who had already been looking for us, pours out His Spirit on us and gives us His wisdom. He is longing to support anyone whose heart is His! I can’t think of stronger support than that!

Appendix

Daniel receives a vision of the future that is recorded in Daniel 8. I write about it in The Ram & the Goat.

1 It is not really a secret, this truth is readily apparent to those who seek the one true God of the Bible! For He promises that those who seek Him in truth, will find Him. Proverbs 8:17 “I love those who love Me; And those who diligently seek Me will find Me.”

2 NIV – New International Version, ESV – English Standard Version, KJV – King James Version

3 The Church Pulpit Commentary on 2 Chronicles 16:9

2 thoughts on “Heart for God”

  1. God used 2 Chronicles 16:9 in a specific way in my life also. The translation was this one:
    2 Chronicles 16:9 (ESV) For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.
    I told God, “I want a blameless heart toward you. How can my heart be blameless?” The Lord’s answer to me was profound and personal. It was:
    Psalm 19:13 (ESV) Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.
    Then I very “innocently” asked God to show me presumptuous sins. All of that day, the Lord showed me again and again how presumptuous I was. If this person would listen to me, their life would be so much better. If only this person would do what I think we should do, it would be so much better. And finally, God said, “You even think that if I [God] would listen to you, the world would be a better place.”
    God is so gracious and so kind. He is so loving and generous and remarkable. I saw presumption for what it truly is ~ sin. I have sinned against my fellows and against God ~ forgive me, Lord. I pray my heart will be completely yours and blameless of great transgressions.
    Then Psalms 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

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