Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Proverbs 21:1-6
Prov 21:1-6
The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin. The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.
1 Peter 3:8-9
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
Of all the people in the Bible, other than Jesus, David is held up as an example for us to follow. This is because his heart was right with God. He loved the Lord with all his heart. When he was chosen to be king over Israel, it was because God looked at his heart and not his outward appearance. Even with all this, David prayed for God to create in him a clean heart and give him a right spirit.
Jesus said that what we do comes from what we are and what we are, comes from what is in our heart. We are told to guard our hearts with all diligence. This heart is the center of all that we think, all we feel, all be believe, and therefore, all that we are, our true character from within. This is the person that acts a certain way because it is right, without regard to who may or may not see it.
“To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” To do the right thing is always better than having to repent for doing the wrong thing. King Saul failed this test and was reprimanded by the prophet Samuel.
God’s people, in every age, are identified by what is in the heart. This is why we are told that the greatest of all the commandments is to love the Lord God with all the heart, with all the soul and with all the mind. Our heart develops from what we put into it. What we see, read, hear, and what we think about is what we are feeding our heart. So, Jesus said for us to seek first his righteousness. Be like him.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. I know, O Lord, that the only thing that I can give to you is my heart and my life. Use me to your glory. Open my eyes to see what you want me to accomplish in my life and empower me to get it done, and then give me wisdom from above with motivation and strength to be what you want me to be. I humbly pray in the name of Jesus my Lord.
Robert
