concealed – Praying Pint

152. To give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.

1 Kings 15:9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah, and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done. He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron. But the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days.

2 Chronicles 16:9    For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.

Jeremiah 16:17   For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.

Proverbs 5:21   For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths.

Proverbs 15:3    The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.

Psalms 34:15     The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.

Hebrews 4:13     And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

If your life was being chronicled like those in the Bible, what would be recorded? Would it be said that you did right in the eyes of the Lord and wholly true to Him or would it say something along the lines of being more lukewarm, lacking conviction, and being influenced by worldly things more than by God.?

I think it would do each well to examine their life, thoughts, and actions in light of God’s word. Of course, this would require time spent in His word with an open heart and desire to have your eyes and ears opened to hear Him speak into your life. I think this is where commitment falls apart. When we have to spend time and effort to be led by God it becomes a burden. When we want, desire, and seek to spend time and effort to be led by God it becomes our purpose for living.

When you get up in the morning do you say I get to spend time in God’s word or do you think I have to spend time in His word? Getting too will be a blessing and having too will be a burden. Having to do the right thing is different than wanting to do the right thing. I have to because God said is different than I want to because God said. I have to thinks there is something to be earned. I want to thinks God is worthy and that they are thankful. One is a partial heart and one is a whole heart. One life is blessed and the other is not. One finds peace, joy, hope, strength, power, love and courage the other finds disappointment, frustration, unhappiness, and confusion.

Our lives, thoughts, intentions, and actions are not hidden from God so why do we pretend that they are. You get to choose to seek and desire God. You get to choose to live for Him. You get to choose to surrender to Him, honor Him, serve Him, follow Him, obey Him, trust Him. These choices will lead you on paths with purpose. Choose and commit to seek and desire God every moment of every day.

But they understood none of these things

Exodus 4:1 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

Acts 7:25  He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.

Psalms 106:7  Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.

Luke 9:45  But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it.

Luke 18:34  But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Psalms 78:42  They did not remember his power or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,

Mar 4:11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that “‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’” And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

“They will not believe or listen to my voice”. This is what Moses said to God when God told him to go speak to the elders. Note in Acts where Paul explained what happened to Moses – the people did not understand.

What keeps people from understanding, listening, remembering, perceiving, or grasping things of God?

Could it be a hardened heart? Weak heart? Lukewarm heart? Proud heart? Worldly heart? Greedy heart? Self-seeking heart? Fearful heart? Faithless heart? Yes these can all happen but why?

Being complacent and living in prosperity, not thinking about needing God. It is a sad place to be, to think you do not need God everyday for every moment. It gets worse from here. When we see little need for God there is no time spent in His word, no time in prayer, no time seeking to serve Him, no time to worship Him, no time to honor Him.

How do we think we will see any of His mighty works, or loving kindness, or grace, or mercy, or forgiveness, or power, or strength, or peace, or courage, or healing….. if neglecting God is the norm for our daily life.

The same neglect will void any understanding of His word and knowing how to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey.

The same neglect leaves us defenseless from the darts of satan in our lives.

“And though they said all is well, destruction came upon them unaware”

If his word is not breath, food and water for your soul there is little hope for honoring Him. If humbly serving, following and obeying Him is not your first goal in life there is little hope for honoring Him. If honoring Him is not the first thought in the morning and last thought at night, how will it ever happen. If His word is not feeding your heart, mind, and soul how will their be fruit.

My strength comes from the Lord.

My hope is in the Lord

My life is in the Lord’s hands

My peace, joy, and love comes from the Lord

My soul rejoices in His promises

My ears seek to hear His leading

My eyes desire to see His mighty hand

My heart loves the Lord

Sin

“I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.”

“Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!”

Psalms 51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

Job 31:33 if I have concealed my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart,

Proverbs 28:13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Psalms 32:5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Psalms 38:15 But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

2 Corinthians 7:7 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

There is nothing like having done something wrong to a person and being forgiven. How much more so with the Creator of all heaven and earth. We can sin knowingly and unknowingly. Knowingly when we hear God’s quiet small voice speaking to our heart and mind and we deny it, or even worse we choose to close our heart and mind to His voice and leading. Knowingly, when we choose not to stay in His word and unknowingly when that word of warning, direction, or command is not planted in our heart and mind. Choosing to neglect His word does not give us, by any means, an excuse. Set time apart each day to read His word, listen to His quiet small voice, and humbly serve, honor and obey.