The Lord Looks on the Heart

The human heart is an invisible, intangible, mysterious, complex gift which God our Creator has bestowed on every human being on earth. The Bible presents very important testimony or witness about the nature and function of the human heart. Here are a few thoughts about this.

I. Yahweh constantly looks on, observes, weighs, evaluates every human heart.
a. Human beings tend to look on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. The prophet Samuel assumed that Eliab, the oldest son of Jesse, was the right choice to be the next king after Saul.
"But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the HEART." 1 Samuel 16:6-7.
b. The author of Hebrews declares:
"The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge THE THOUGHTS AND INTENTS OF THE HEART. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account."
c. The Lord TESTS or TRIES or PROVES or REFINES the heart. These verbs derive from the practice of refining precious metals like gold or silver to remove alloys from impure metals when they are taken out of the ground.
Psalm 26:2
Psalm 139:23-24
Jeremiah 9:4-7
Jeremiah 17:5-10

II. The Heart is the CENTER, the DYNAMO of every human being from which all thoughts and words and actions flow.
Proverbs 4:23
Matthew 15:10-20=Mark 7:14-23

III. The decisions of the heart distinguish between true religion and false or hypocritical religion.
Matthew 6:1-18
Luke 18:9-14

IV. The feelings of the heart distinguish between genuine JOY and counterfeit joy.
a. Many people APPEAR to be happy because they are healthy, wealthy, and surrounded by friends. But whether they know it or not, they are not REALLY JOYFUL. Psalm 73:1-12.
b. Genuine JOY consists of an intimate, daily, personal relationship with God and loving others as we love ourselves.
Matthew 5:10-12
John 15:10-11
John 16:20-24
1 Peter 1:3-9

I hope YOU will read carefully all these biblical texts and ideas. EVERYTHING from a human perspective is the value of the human HEART. Keep YOUR heart with all vigilance.

Share YOUR experiences and feelings and reliefs and problems with others. Let me hear from YOU.

John Willis