The Kind of God We Serve – 1 – 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NASB) September 30, 2010
“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”
NKJV – “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”
The questions that come to me out of this verse are how much we selfishly want to control God’s power so that we get credit for being stronger than we are and what does loyalty of heart (“whose heart is completely His”) mean for our generation.
The question of who gets credit for accomplishments is one that needs revisiting in every culture and generation. It is very easy to say, “Look what I did!” when, in fact, some good has come about through the participation and cooperation of several people with whom we are associated, not least that of God Himself. In 1 Corinthians 4:7 Paul wrote, “And what do you have that you did not receive?” The implication is that all we enjoy is a gift from God, not something about which we can boast as if we got it by our own hands. In that regard, Moses away back in Deuteronomy 8 told the Israelites to be careful to remember the giving God. “Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
Human pride continually rears its ugly head, trying to take glory away from God, as if we were in His league in any way. If we truly thought of ourselves in any right way, we would have to humble ourselves and admit that we don’t have it in us to accomplish what He can. We would give Him the credit He so richly deserves.
That, of course, means that we would have to examine what it means to have hearts that are “completely His.”
To me it means that we no longer have divided loyalties, that our hearts (that which is most truly ourselves) would be united about who is really in charge and in control of our daily living. Who is it going to be, our own deceitful selves or God? We cannot really have it both ways. At some point we must give over the right to make decisions to the only One who can see the future rightly. We can’t. The devil can’t. Human society can’t. The government can’t. That leaves only One. God. When we choose Him as the One who decides for us, we release Him to become to us what He promises to be.
He will be the One who shows “Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” In every situation we face, we will find Him giving guidance and strength to us. When we are severely outnumbered by the forces of warped humanity, we find that He is more than adequate to over-power those who think themselves dominant. When we are challenged by those who consider themselves smarter than God, we will find that His ways of thinking are higher than the best thoughts of worldly (devilish) philosophers.
When we are loyal to Him, we find He is fully faithful to us.
This is the kind of God we serve. If we so choose.
