Heart & Glory

See the signs all around you of how great God is. Give Him your heart and let your eyes delight in His ways.

“Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king…Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He followed the ways of the kings…the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out…King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah the priest a sketch of the altar…As for the bronze altar that stood before the Lord, he brought it from the front of the temple—from between the new altar and the temple of the Lord—and put it on the north side of the new altar…Splash against this altar the blood of all the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar for seeking guidance…He took away the Sabbath canopy that had been built at the temple and removed the royal entryway outside the temple of the Lord, in deference to the king of Assyria.” 2 Kings 16:2-18

We have the opportunity to learn a lot from King Ahaz. Not for the good that he did, but by how he loved the ways of the world more than God. The text says that he did what the nations around him did, and he displaced the altar of Solomon for a replica of a pagan altar of a foreign king. How could the king of Jerusalem have gotten to a place where God was not the center of what he worshiped?

You can tell a lot about a person’s heart by what they love. Think for a second about how envy of what others have or how they live influences your heart. Do you ever wish you could live someone else’s life? Have you ever wished you had someone else’s luxuries, looks, or leisure? Envy is more common than we may think and is everywhere in our culture. There is great danger in allowing our desires to impact our devotion.

“Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.” Psalms 29:1-11

Can anything compare to God? David does not say that you need to do anything to make God stronger or better. David said, recognize how amazing, powerful, and perfect God is. David said, ascribe to God the glory He is due. Worship the splendor of His holiness. What does that mean to you? How would you describe God to others, and how do you ascribe to God the glory due His name?

Is it possible that the compassion and grace that Jesus has brought to our lives has made us casual about our approach to worshiping God? Are we worshiping God with the same devotion Monday to Saturday as we do Sunday morning? Or are we different people when we leave the parking lot?

“When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive. Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags. Listen to your father, who gave you life…My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways,” Proverbs 23:1-26

Solomon creates a clear contrast between envy and zeal. Every day we see the connections in Scripture, and today those connections highlight those two words and the call to give our hearts fully to Christ. Solomon said do not allow your heart to envy wealth or what other people have. He said do not wear yourself out to get rich and waste your life by drinking it away.

Have you ever wondered why you were made? The Bible says you were made by God to glorify Him. Wisdom tells us to always be zealous for God. Ironically, being zealous in our world can be seen as a fault. Our world loves the safety of people who stay in the middle and do not rock the boat. We want people who politically straddle fences and do not offend others.

God is not honored or glorified by half-hearted living. He says, “My child, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways.” Think about that statement for a second. He says, take your eyes off yourself or off the envy of the world around you and focus on Me. See that I made all things and am the only One worthy of worship. Are you doing what God has told us to do? Have you given Him your heart, and is your delight found in Him? Or are your desires, like Ahaz’s, found in other people or the things of the world?

“You are always righteous, Lord, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?…Many shepherds will ruin my vineyard and trample down my field; they will turn my pleasant field into a desolate wasteland. They will sow wheat but reap thorns; they will wear themselves out but gain nothing. But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among my people. But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,” Jeremiah 12:1-17

Jeremiah has an incredible exchange with God. He asked the question that many of us have pondered. Why do I see people who do evil prosper? Why are people who do not love the Lord living lives of luxury? Have you ever wondered why bad things happen to good people or why suffering exists while the wicked seemingly have everything you want?

God answers simply. He says, “My ways are not your ways.” Solomon said the fear of the Lord is wisdom. His perspective and purposes are higher and better than ours. He said the people who do evil will reap what they sow, but you should know My heart is to redeem the lost. He said, even while they are far away, I will make a way for them to come home.

God is a God of compassion. Should we not give glory to a God who loves us even when we do not deserve it? Can we not see how amazing the grace of God and the guidance of truth are? God said the same thing as Solomon. He said as soon as people give Me their hearts, I will be their God and I will heal them as they learn to delight in My ways. Where do you need to turn back to God? Where have you been half-hearted and not fully devoted?

“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars…each holding from twenty to thirty gallons…Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine…he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory…Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”” John 2:1-17

Jesus’ first miracle is a living example that God wants you to taste and see that He is good. Following Jesus involves experiencing the power of God at work and seeing that He is worthy of our worship. The best thing you can do today is to give God your heart and ascribe to Him the glory due His name.

Jesus is the fulfillment of every promise God has ever made. When Jeremiah declared that God would have compassion and bring His people back, he was pointing forward to Jesus. The text says the wine was the first sign of His glory.

The connections in Scripture should cause us to stand in awe of how great God is. His Word is alive and active. The same day Solomon said to have zeal for the Lord, we see zeal on display in Jesus driving the people out of the temple who had taken up space in the place of worship. The truth is Jesus wants to do the same thing with anything that has taken up space in our hearts, and often wealth, or what wealth can buy, has taken up space like the merchants in the temple. The Savior who cleansed the temple desires to cleanse our hearts so they will be His alone.

Today, we have a choice: zeal for the Lord or envy of the world. The things that capture our attention eventually shape our devotion. Ahaz admired the nations and built an altar after a pagan one. We will always be shaped by what we love most. What is shaping you?

Jesus calls you by name today and invites you to give Him your heart, delight in His ways, and let your zeal be for giving God glory. You were created to glorify God. There is no greater purpose than glorifying God. Decide today how you will give Him the glory due His name. Wherever you are, you are only one step from turning back to Him and seeing that His compassionate arms are wide open. We all possess the ability to please God by giving Him our hearts and letting our eyes delight in Him.