Proverbs 16

PROVERBS 16

"The preparations of the heart belong to man,
But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
But the LORD weighs the spirits.
Commit your works to the LORD,
And your thoughts will be established."
(vs 1-3)

Oh that the Lord God would establish our thoughts, that He would direct even how we think, that His will would become our desire, that our tongues would speak His words. The Proverb tells us - "The preparations of the heart belong to man." We are the only ones that can prepare our own hearts. And if we do, the Lord can speak through us.

In the Old Testament, the Lord relayed His commandments to the Persian king through Ezra, who had prepared his heart to hear from Him.

"For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel..." - Ezra 7:10-11

Being in tune with what the Lord is saying is accomplished by turning our hearts to Him, and allowing Him to direct our steps. In those who were given ruler-ship over God’s people, we can see the importance of that action.

Unto king Jehoshaphat, of ancient Judah, the prophet Jehu did bring conviction for his tolerance of sin, yet he commended him for setting his heart to seek the Lord.

"Nevertheless good things are found in you, in that you have removed the wooden images from the land, and have prepared your heart to seek God.” - 2 Chron 19:2-3

The result was that - "The realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around." - 2 Chron 20:30

Then we have the example of Solomons son Rehoboam, who was in part responsible for the nation of Israel being divided from within, because he followed his own way and did not prepare His heart...

"And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD." - 2 Chron 12:14

Whereas Jehoshaphat had a relatively peaceful reign, Rehoboam was constantly at war. (2 Chron 12:15)

One king prepared His heart before the Lord. The other did not.


The Hebrew word for ’heart’ used here each time is the noun לֵב (Leb) which as Strongs defines - "includes not only the motives, feelings, affections and desires, but also the will, the aims, the principles, the thoughts and the intellect of man."

More than our emotions, it is our entire inner being. Strongs continues - "In fact, it embraces the whole inner man, the head never being regarded as the seat of intelligence. While it is the source of all action and the center of all thought and feeling the heart is also described as receptive to the influences both from the outer world and from God Himself." (3820)

Preparing our "hearts" before Him is more than a feeling or even an attitude, it means to empty ourselves of selfish motives and desires, set aside our own will, and commit our thoughts and ways to God. I believe this is what Paul was talking about when he charges us to "present our bodies a living sacrifice" (Rom 12:1)

The Word tells us to - "purify our hearts" (James 4:8), "wash our hearts from evil" (Jer 4:14), to "set our hearts toward the Lord" (1 Chron 22:19) These are things we do. These are the preparations we make to our hearts that the Lord can dwell therein: instructing our minds, teaching our intellect, establishing our feelings, granting our desires, molding our will into one with His.

Paul’s prayer for the saints was - "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love... that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."- from Eph 3:17-19

Grounded in love for one another, love for Jesus. That we may be filled with the fullness of God. The Father and the Son.

Jesus said - "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him." - John 14:23

Friends, I’m not there. I want to be. Rather than continually warring with my Adamic nature and dealing with the consequences, I yearn to dwell in the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, that is available to each of us, as we daily prepare our hearts to receive Him. As we determine to follow His way.

God bless you & your loved ones, and guide you into all Truth,

Michael


A man’s heart plans his way,
But the LORD directs his steps.
(vs 9)