Why You Should Take Comfort That God Knows Your Heart
- Clarence L. Haynes Jr. Contributing Writer
- Published Jan 11, 2022
"But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'” – 1 Samuel 16:7
It is safe to say that as humans we can be drawn to people because of the things they do. Often these things can cause us to formulate an opinion about that person based on what we see outwardly. While this is normal behavior, the reason we do this is that we cannot see what is in their heart so initially, all we can go by is what they present us. While we do often form opinions about a person’s actions, we don’t have the right and cannot judge a person’s heart or motives. In fact, it is safe to say many people have taken actions that are not reflective of what is truly in their hearts. God himself said that people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. (Isa. 29:13) Thankfully God is not like us. He not only sees what is done by a person he also looks at what is in their heart. God doesn’t just look at everyone else’s heart he also looks at yours as well. While for some this could be a source of concern it should be a source of relief. You should take comfort that God knows your heart and here are some reasons why.
God Knowing Your Heart Establishes the Foundation for Your Relationship
The fact that God knows your heart sets the foundation for your relationship with him. Here are two things God says about the heart.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” – Jeremiah 17:9 (NKJV)
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” – Ezekiel 36:26
A relationship with God can only be established when you come to the realization of what is in your heart. On our own, our hearts are as Jeremiah says, deceitful and wicked. I know we don’t like to use these terms to describe our hearts because most people like to say they have a good heart. The problem is that a good heart is not good enough. We need a perfect heart and none of us have that. You are probably thinking, how can you find comfort that God knows your heart when it is in this condition? The reason is that God knows your heart, he sent a remedy to deal with it. We can take comfort in knowing that Jesus came to remedy our wicked and deceitful hearts. When God redeems us, he gives us a new heart so that we can follow him. This is what becomes the foundation of our relationship. A new heart, birthed by the Holy Spirit living inside us.
Because God Knows Your Heart it Allows You to Take the Mask Off
Of all the comfort you can find in God knowing your heart, perhaps this is the most important one. Since God knows your heart, this allows you to take the mask off. I cannot tell you how often we as believers wear masks around each other (this has nothing to do with covid by the way), and we also carry these same types of masks when we go before God. I just don’t know why. In case you have forgotten, you cannot fool God nor can you hide your true intentions from God because as we saw in the verse above, God is looking at your heart. For this reason, you can take the mask off and be real and honest before God. In other words, tell God what is really in your heart because he knows what is there anyway. By hiding, you may fool yourself, but you are not fooling God. You can take comfort in knowing that God knows what is in your heart and yet he invites you to come before him anyway. No matter how you feel or what you are going through tell God about it.
- If you are angry…tell him.
- If you are weak…tell him.
- If you are hurt…tell him.
- If you are disappointed…tell him.
Regardless of what it is, whether you are high or low, whether you feel defeated or victorious, or anywhere in between get into the habit of pouring out your heart before God. He already knows and he can handle it. When you do, what you will find is comfort and grace and most importantly help in time of need. God cares for you and God knows your heart so take the mask off and start being honest before him.
God Knowing Your Heart Is the Basis for Reward
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 6:1
It is so easy sometimes to focus on what you do. What you must also focus on is why you do it. Have you ever felt overlooked? Have you ever poured your all into something only for your motives to be questioned? One of the other reasons you can find comfort that God knows your heart is because it is the basis for your reward. In this verse in Matthew, Jesus is telling us there are people out there who do the right thing for the wrong reasons.
Outwardly they may look holy, selfless, prayerful, humble and any other type of spiritual look. However inwardly they are only doing it to be seen or some other selfish motive. They have the wrong heart. Isn’t it good to know that when you do something with the right heart and motive that God sees it? When you help in secret not because you want to be seen but you want to be a blessing, God sees that. Everything you do for God that is done with the right heart and attitude, God sees it and will reward you for it. The reward may not come in this life, but God will reward you, nonetheless. That’s why you don’t need to search for validation from others, but you can find validation from God who looks and sees what you do and knows the motives of your heart.
When God Knows Your Heart it Positions You to Experience God’s Grace
The final thing I want to share with you is because God knows your heart it positions you to experience his grace. We often think of grace as God giving us what we don’t deserve, which is true, but God’s grace also refers to his strength to help us in time of need. Do you remember this verse from Corinthians?
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” – 2 Corinthians 12:9
God’s power of grace is made effective in your life when you are aware of your weaknesses. What makes this verse more amazing is God knows our heart and weakness and, despite that, is ready and willing to pour out strength to help us overcome them. However, to access that strength he is looking for people that will acknowledge their weaknesses. We can make the critical mistake of running from God because of our weaknesses, in effect, we are running from grace. We need to run to God with our weaknesses because there we will find grace. Y
ou will ultimately discover that God who knows your heart will make his power perfect in the place of your greatest weakness. When you are honest about what is in your heart, which God knows anyway, this will not push God away. The opposite happens because God responds to you when you are honest about what is in your heart and that positions you to receive his grace.
“My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.” – Psalm 51:17
So where do we go with these hearts that we have? You go right to God. Just the way you are with no pretenses. Simply put God is looking for people who will examine their hearts, acknowledge what is in there, and come to him to allow him to deal with it. Best of all God already knows your heart and you can take comfort in knowing that he sees what is in your heart and he is willing to help anyway. This is just how wonderful our God truly is.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Adene Sanchez
