A Perfect Heart Towards God

"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him."
                                                       2 Chronicles 16:9




Sometimes God waits to show Himself strong in our lives. Twenty-four years after God had called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees, God appeared to Abraham and said, "'I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless [or perfect]'" (Genesis 17:1). Abraham had walked with God during those years but God waited until the time that Abraham was reaching the climax of his spiritual growth. He waited until Abraham walked in an attitude of perfect obedience, faith, and commitment to God.

God honored Abraham's commitment and he became the father of all who believe (Romans 4:11-12). His obedience and faith is the pattern for us to follow and his patience and faith is sill to be emulated by believers today. God desires that we, too, walk before Him and are made perfect so that through His covenant with us  He will be glorified and multiply us abundantly. The closer we come to the culmination of all the promises of God, the more God calls us to this standard.

The book of Job gives us more insight into what it looks like to have a perfected heart towards God. Job's friends did not have a high opinion of him, but the Lord said, "'Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless [perfect] and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?'" (Job 1:8).

The insight here is that a perfected heart consists of both a right attitude toward God and a right attitude toward evil. There is no compromise or sitting on the fence. This requires a fierce commitment to obedience and the willingness to pay the price for it because it will cost us something.

Please know that God does not require us to have a perfect heart. He requires us to have a perfect heart towards Him. David is the example of this. Morally, David was not  perfect as he had an affair with Bathsheba. However, his heart was perfect towards God and he became the measuring stick for all the other kings that would follow him.

The book of Exodus gives us the first requirement of a perfect heart towards God. We are told that "God spoke all these things, saying, 'I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me'" (Exodus 20:1-3).

Determining who our "god" really is will determine our destiny. We find this answer by looking at what we fear. If there is anything we fear more than we fear God then that is what becomes our "god". For example, if I fear cancer more than I fear God, then cancer has become my "god".

According to Derek Prince, there are four kinds of fear that are not the fear of the Lord. They are: natural fear, demonic fear, religious fear, and the fear of man. These can actually become deterrents to us walking in the true fear and admonition of the Lord that we are called to.

Natural fear is something that God placed within us to protect us. If we are hiking along a path and a rattlesnake is coiled up right in front of us our natural instinct is to jump backward (and possibly scream very, very loudly). Both fear and pain are two devices that God gives to us to protect us from harm.

Demonic fear is a fear that torments us (1 John 4:18). This is a fear that does not come from God
(2 Timothy 1:7) and its purpose is to harm us. This is a fear that controls and paralyzes us from being who God called us to be and from doing what God has called us to do.

Religious fear is taught by man. Isaiah 29:13 says, "Therefore the Lord said: 'Inasmuch as these people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.'" This involves the fear of doing the wrong religious things. It prefers the status quo and does not acknowledge what God is doing in their midst.

The fear of man is the opposite of trusting in God. Proverbs 29:15 says, "The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe." It is our human tendency to worry about what other people think but the apostle, Peter, tells us that "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).

So, what does the fear of the Lord look like? The two aspects of the fear of the Lord are found in Psalms and in Proverbs:

"Come you children, listen to Me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord."  (Psalm 34:11)

"Then they will call on Me, but I will not answer; they will seek Me diligently, but  they will not find Me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord." (Proverbs 1:28-29)

Thus, the fear of the Lord is taught and we must also choose it. The Holy Spirit will plant it in our hearts and then teach us how to walk in it. As we respond to what we are being taught, we will begin to enjoy God's favor in our lives.

Humility and favor will bring blessings everywhere we go. It will carry with it God's presence and goodness that touches everything and everyone we encounter. It is a joy and a privilege to walk in this level of anointing. It is a blessing and a comfort to know that our heart is undivided.

God is always looking for a people whose hearts are fully His, but He especially is in these days we are living in. He seeks those who have completely made Him their God and have learned the fear of the Lord. This is when He will show Himself strong and manifest His divine favor. Oh, that we may be among those that have perfected hearts towards God!


          "In the light of the King's face is life; and His favor is like a cloud of the latter rain."
                                                                  Proverbs 16:15