Isaiah 29:13 The LORD says: “These people come near me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me….”
Even as I typed this verse yesterday, I knew I would come back to it today. The truth of it resonates deeply. As a mother and a teacher, I know when someone is just going through the motions, when their acquiescence and obedience are superficial and not heartfelt. Not only does God know the same in my obedience to Him, He also knows when I profess to have turned my cares over to Him but my heart is secretly clinging to worries, fears, or desires I can’t let go. Those things, which I stubbornly and at times unintentionally cling to, present a barrier to my communion with God.
Psalm 44:21 God would surely have known it, for He knows the secrets of every heart.
Just as I know when my children are struggling with something that they are holding close, God knows my heart. As much as it hurts my heart to watch these children I love struggle, to want to help and not be able to because they won’t open up, I wonder if God feels the same as He watches me struggle with those things that I hold in the quiet of my own heart, those things I don’t want to share with anyone, though He knows because He knows me completely.
1 Chron 28:9 “…learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve He with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the LORD sees every heart and knows every plan and thought….”
Lord, Thank You for this day and for guiding me along this path today. I want more than anything to know You intimately, to hold nothing back from You. You love me and those I love more than I am even capable of loving, Lord. Help me to seek You, every moment of every day, with my whole heart and a willing mind. Help me to hold nothing back from You. Draw me closer. Amen.
Psalm 31:5 Into Your hands I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth.
Have a blessed day.