The Lord Looks at the Heart

Meditations for Ragamuffins

April 19, 2024

The Lord Looks at the Heart

The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7b 

When the Bible speaks of the heart, it is referring to our mind, will and emotions, our soul, the very essence of who we are as a person. I find this very comforting. The LORD knows us from the inside out. He knows why we are the way we are. He knows our hurts, our fears, our brokenness, our dreams, and our hopes. The LORD loves us for the entirety of who we are. Think of the returning prodigal son being embraced by his father; that’s how the LORD loves each of His children.

 This love of God for me inspires me to both love myself, just as I am, and to be willing to allow God’s goodness and love to transform my brokenness. As I told the Twelve-Step group I counseled,

 it is OK not to be OK,

but it is not OK to stay that way.”

God is transforming His children to become like Jesus (Romans 8:28-29), and the tenderness of His love gives me the ability to release my past as “I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12b NASB).

Because of how I see this truth of God being worked out in my life, I am sensing God working patience into my life as I interact with others, especially those whom I perceive as difficult to get along with. God is teaching me to see their heart, just as He sees my heart, to see their brokenness just as He sees mine.

My Takeaway: Because I know how much I need the LORD to see my heart, it is becoming easier to follow Jesus’ command: “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you” (Matthew 7:12).

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2024 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.