Heart-Loyalty to God

Scripture:  II Chronicles 16:9 - The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.  
    
Do you, dear reader, have a heart that’s loyal to the Lord? Have you committed to memorizing any Bible verses that speak to your heart, reviving and encouraging you with each meditation?  If you love our Lord and have grown over the years in appreciating the fact that He has indeed exalted His word above all His name, as Psalm 138:2(b) says, then you will have an increasingly heavenward perspective and peace that few others enjoy!
    
Today’s Scripture should motivate us to avoid compromising our  heart-loyalty to our Savior God by becoming  fixated on the troublesome events that  arise in life-- letting them loom larger in our mind than God’s promised faithfulness!  In reference to the title passage, King Asa of the southern kingdom (Judah), when militarily opposed by King Baasha of Israel (the Northern Kingdom), forgot all about God’s past military deliverances of Judah from the formidable Ethiopians and Libyans. When threatened, he instead sought refuge from the Syrians’ King Ben-hadad for help against King Baasha’s Israeli army.  When God sent His prophet, Hanani, to redirect King Asa’s loyalty and trust, ol’ Asa got angry, had the prophet imprisoned, and began a streak of oppressiveness against his own people! While he began his reign exercising loyalty and trust in the Lord, he failed to finish strong in his pursuit of godliness.
    
This sounds a lot like what many professing Christians are doing today—abandoning heart-loyalty to God, in favor of what seems on the surface to be an easier solution!  Let us repent and refocus our gaze, people of God! One day we will certainly give God an account!
       
Prayer:  Dear LORD, we desire to be people whose hearts remain loyal to You, that we may  experience Your great deliverances in our lives, rejoice Your heart, and bring glory to Your great name.  Thank You in Jesus’  name; Amen!

(by Sis. Denise Diggs)