DAILY DEVOTION No. 9

The men who accompanied Saul had hearts that had been touched by God. What is meant by heart? The Greek word for heart is kardia which means "a person as a whole – his thoughts, reasoning, understanding, will, judgment, designs and his affections". God greatly desires for us to allow our hearts to be touched by Him. 

Notice it says 'valiant men'. You and I can achieve great things for God's kingdom whereby we receive recognition from the church or from the world as valiant men and women. We may even do things in accordance with Christ's teachings in God's Word and it is seen as a tremendous service for God and humanity, but unless God has touched our heart and our motive is out of love for Him, and not for self ambition or self gain, our works in God's eyes will be seen as worthless.

In Isaiah 64:7 we read of God's people, " No one calls on Your name, or strives to lay hold of You;" Why is it that many Christians don’t seem to walk in victory and are never seeming to progress in their Christian walk? Because they don't lay hold of God and allow their hearts to be regularly touched by Him. We must remember that our heart is the key to life!  Proverbs 4:23 tells us that out of it flow the issues of life. 

Matt 12:34 …… “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”. You can tell the difference between a person who has had their heart changed and those who religiously attend church, never allowing their heart to be touched by God. In the following verse from the above passage i.e. verse 27, it says, "But some rebels said, 'How can this man save us?' So they despised him, and brought him no presents." To apply this to our relationship with God, when our hearts are no longer soft towards Him we begin to despise the things of God and harden our hearts and no longer desire to bring the gift of ourselves - our time, our service and our talents.

What Happens When A Person’s Heart Has Been Touched By God?

1) The Presence Of God Is Essential To Their Lives

They yearn for the Giver in intimacy – not just His gifts. There is a passion for more of God – the more we know Him the more we want Him. There comes a greater love for prayer, God’s word and for worship and there is yielding of our lives as living sacrifices before Him. Things that were once important become less of a priority. To seek more of the presence of God comes at a price but is far more valuable than any riches this world could offer. 

2) They Start To Deal With Sin In Their Lives

There is no longer a tolerance for sin. A person whose heart has been touched begins to be changed from glory to glory by the Spirit of God. In Jeremiah 17:10 we read “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” Then in Ps. 139:23 & 24, David said “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts (meditation): 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” The heart is the seat of the will. Are you willing for God to search your heart? Are you prepared to take a look at your thought life and your attitudes, for to deal with sin, we must look at these things.

i) Our Thoughts - our mind is a battleground. Paul says in Rom.12:2 that we are not to be conformed to this world but are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.” We must bring our mind in line with our heart, not our heart in line with our mind. It is one thing to have a bad thought. It is another thing to begin to entertain that thought.

ii) Our Attitudes - wrong thoughts produce wrong attitudes. We must realise that what is in our heart will eventually come out. How our attitude is to certain people or certain things happening around us will determine our behaviour. We can either keep a sweet spirit, or we can allow a wrong spirit to cause us to be angry, or to be grumblers and complainers. Until we recognize the attitude of our heart, we can drift along in a false sense that our lives are alright spiritually. This can result in hardness of heart without us sometimes even recognizing it.

3) They Begin To Bear Fruit In Their Lives

  God desires that we be carriers of His presence and channels through which He can show His glory. Bearing fruit is a sure sign of those who have allowed God to touch their heart. The fingerprint of God on their lives can be seen by others. In John 15:8 we read “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.” So we see that God wants each one of us to be fruitful in our lives. Bearing fruit is for the Father’s glory and as we bear fruit, we show ourselves to be His disciples.

Challenge

When did you last allow God to touch your heart, your thought life and your attitudes? How essential is God's presence to you? Are you a carrier of His presence and showing yourself to be His disciple by bearing much fruit?

Prayer

Father, I ask you to touch my heart afresh. I want to be a person that keeps in touch with the state of my heart and always has a heart that is soft towards You. Help me Lord to keep a sweet spirit and be a person that bears much fruit.

Rod Best