Does He Have Your Heart?

Deuteronomy 6:5- “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…”

This morning I saw a man wearing a tee shirt with the scripture from Isaiah 54:17 that no weapon formed against us shall prosper. That was on his front, and of course it’s a favorite scripture of mine so I secretly cheered! But as he passed me, on his back was “God’s got my back!”

The very next thing in my spirit was, “But does He have your heart?”

It is interesting how the Lord can get our attention from simple interactions in this life. That stayed with me and of course, I wanted to share it. If the Lord asks a question, it’s best to see if you can answer it. Was the question about the young man, about me, about people in general.

Moses, speaking to the children of Israel, declared that we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart. Can I be honest with you here? I love God dearly, but does He truly have all of my heart? Today I am wondering! Why would Moses even say this? Is it even possible to love the Lord with all of my heart?

Someone stopped Jesus and asked Him, testing Him, “which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…” In both the Old and the New Testaments we are told to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts! What does that even look like? Can I just say that I am not completely sure, because I am not going to say that I am there! But oh how I want to be!

Now any reader of the Word of God can tell you that we are not to compare ourselves to one another, so I won’t. But I will use Jesus as an example.

What did this undivided heart of love look like in Jesus’ life? Well…

*Jesus absolutely enjoyed the Presence of God. He prayed so much that His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray. Not how to perform miracles, not how to teach the word, but how to pray! I know a heart totally bent towards loving Him is a heart that is in communion with Him through prayer continuously!

*Jesus fully obeyed the Father! He said whatever God told Him to do He did it! As a matter of fact, one soldier said to Him, I am also a man under authority! He recognized that Jesus lived a submitted life to the Father! Obeying Him is a given, but a heart that is totally His, not only obeys, but does so joyfully!

*Jesus wasn’t interested in fitting in with the social scene or religious groups of His day! If anything, He was constantly challenging their thinking about everything as He shed Light on how God sees and operates! He never tried to fit in, He never whined about being different, and He never cared what they thought of Him. He loved God with all of His heart, and nothing else mattered more than that! He was sold out!

*Jesus knew He was fully loved in return! He trusted in God’s love and operated from that love! And because of His undivided heart towards God, there was nothing that God wouldn’t do for Him!

No one mattered more to Him than His Father! No one’s opinion mattered more to Him than His Father! No one’s will, not even His own, mattered more than the Father’s!

When I compare my heart to Jesus’ heart, I truly fall short! But the good news is because I have Him as my example, all I have to do is follow Him! As I grow in my relationship with Him, I know that there is no greater place of joy than His Presence. When I spend time in prayer I feel a peace that nothing else can give me. I don’t always pray the same way at the same time, but there are times when I just want to talk with the Father! Not always easy to keep your prayer life from becoming rote and vain repetition, but so necessary for a vital life with Him!

Learning to fully obey, the first time, is another area of challenge for us. We have to not only be committed to fully obeying the logos (written) word of God, but those promptings that say: forgive her, apologize to him, don’t open your mouth, give her this, go visit that sister, go to church, encourage that person….these words from Him have to also be obeyed.

Not fitting in!! We are a peculiar people, so that should be no surprised. Not weird people, but different in all that we do! It’s sometimes hard for Christians to be different without being weird. It is also hard sometimes to not fit in. To be the only Christian, to be the only one standing up for Jesus! To be the only one not drinking, not cursing, not sleeping around, not cheating, etc. But when Elijah complained about being the only one, God told him that He had 7,000 prophets reserved to Himself! So you are not the only one! Maybe you need to be the one bold enough to stand out for Him so that others will follow!

Lastly, understanding the love that He is giving us! Paul wrote that we should understand the height, depth, width and length of His love! He loves us as passionately as He wants us to love Him!

Does He have my heart? Yes! Is it fully engaged? It’s the thing that I want more than anything else! And as I live my life, I live for it to be an expression of His love for me and my love for Him! So while He definitely has my back, more importantly, I give Him my heart and all that entails! Does He have your heart? Wonderful Jesus!