“…For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”—1 Samuel 16:7 ESV

(Lord, I didn’t really ‘plan’ on writing in this way today, but God, as long as it’s of You, then that is okay…let it be of You, God. May You do, what You have in Your heart to do.)

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I am learning

to be thankful…

for the times that God surfaces and reveals an issue within my heart…

Because I am learning,

that He does it

because He loves me…

because He wants me to walk the good plans that He designed for my life.

I believe that many of the issues that we run into in life

are often issues that stem from within our own hearts.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”—Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

Let’s be honest, it’s much easier to think that it’s always the enemy, or other people.

But if we don’t look at these things that God shows us within our own hearts,

we’re just agreeing with deception and fooling ourselves. 🥀

And so I’m learning to be thankful when I run into an issue within my own heart.

Because I know…

that it’s really an opportunity

to run right into my Heavenly Father,

to run right into the important lesson

that He knows I need

…in order to grow, and to succeed. 🌷

God wants us to succeed—to walk out—to grow into,

that which He’s called us to.

And so He reveals these hidden “snares” within our hearts.

Snares that not only hinder our walk with Him,

but these “snares” can also endanger the lives of others,

…as they can result in

consequences of sin

that we might not be able to see or comprehend.

We see an example of this in the story of Gideon.

Most of us think of a timid man becoming a “mighty man of valor” in the Lord, and that he did become!

But there is a critical lesson in his story that needs to be seen.

It’s a part of the story that I don’t like to see, but it’s something that I need to see…

From the spoils that were gained from the victories, we see that Gideon made a golden idol in the form of an ephod.

“Gideon made [all the golden earrings into] an ephod [a sacred, high priest’s garment], and put it in his city of Ophrah, and all Israel worshiped it as an idol there, and it became a trap for Gideon and his household.“—Judges 8:27 AMP

In my Holman Study Bible notes it says,

“…He asked for a royal share of the plunder, earrings from every man, representing a symbolic token of submission to him. As in Ex 32, where earrings were used in the making of a golden calf, so Gideon used these earrings to manufacture an idol in the form of an ephod, a garment worn by the priests and used as a means of determining God’s will. The amount of gold—more than 43 pounds—suggests that the garment included an idolatrous image. Gideon’s intent was to glorify himself, founding his own cult like the Canaanite kings. The result was spiritually disastrous, ensnaring all Israel in prostituting themselves…”

It seems there may have been some underlying heart issues that Gideon failed to face before the Lord, and ultimately, this led to something that not only affected his own life, but it led to a damaging ripple effect that affected the lives of many others.

I don’t like to see this, do you?

I don’t like to look at this, do you?

….but imagine how much more God doesn’t like to see this?

This is why He so faithfully knocks on the door of our hearts! 🚪❤️

That we might let Him in…

that He might sit with us

and teach us,

and help us deal with these underlying issues within our hearts.

Heavenly Father, because of Your great love,

You allow me to run right into the issues of my heart.

For You know…

what I need to run into—to face head-on with You.

I THANK YOU…

for showing me the issues of my heart. 💖☀️

THANK YOU for walking with me,

THANK YOU for showing me what I need to see,

and what I need to know and learn,

THANK YOU for Your gift of repentance, that I might avoid these “snares.”

That I may walk in all that You have planned for me to do,

that I may walk in all that You have called me to.

That I might LIVE out

the design

that You have in mind.

That I might LIVE this life that You created for me to live, alongside You.

So I thank You, Father, for doing the work that needs to be done in me.

My God, my trust is in You. 💝 You lead me in the way I should go. Help me to trust, and to follow!

-Heather 🌺