Which Heart is Yours?

How should we respond to the words of our God? What kind of heart should we have? And more specifically, what kind of heart do we have?

The children of Israel who were left in the land after the deportation to Babylon, as they neared the end of the city of Jerusalem, were in just such a predicament. They needed to know what God would have them do, and they needed to know how to respond to that word.

The people went to Jeremiah the prophet, and in their coming to him, they show themselves to have the proper attitude and respect for God.

"Then all the commanders . . . and all the people both small and great approached and said to Jeremiah the prophet, 'Please let our petition come before you, and pray for us to the Lord your God, that is for all this remnant; because we are left but a few out of many, as your own eyes now see us, that the Lord your God may tell us the way in which we should walk and the thing that we should do'" (Jer. 42:1-3).

Is there a better attitude toward God's word and His messenger? "Tell us what God would have us do. That is what we want, and that is what we will do." That is what is required of all who would come to God. We must recognize what He wishes for us, and we must then react to it by doing it. That is the kind of heart God is looking for in His people.

Unfortunately, what the people said they wanted was not true. Their hearts actually wanted something besides what God wanted for them.

"But it came about, as soon as Jeremiah whom the Lord their God had sent, had finished telling all the people all the words of the Lord their God--that is, all these words--that Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanon the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, 'You are telling a lie! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, 'You are not to enter Egypt to reside there''" (Jer. 43:1-2).

In truth, the people proved themselves to be uninterested in what God had to say when it went against their own will. This is a frightening scenario, for it has been played out many times before and many times since, maybe by us. If we have this kind of heart, then whenever what God has to say is difficult, or whenever what God asks from us seems (to us) unreasonable, then we are certain to side with our own selfish motives rather than those of God, who cares for us.

What kind of heart do you have? When God calls you to obey His word, whether it is difficult or not, whether it is reasonable or not, whether it suits you or not, are you willing to do it? Or are you, like these rebellious Israelites, more interested in what pleases you? God knows our hearts, and He knows when our obedience is true, or when it is merely because obedience (in this instance) suits us. What kind of heart do you have?