The inclination of your heart

Deuteronomy 5:29 (NIV)

“Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear Me and keep all My commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever.”

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed a 10-day trip, part business, part pleasure, to Switzerland several years ago.  Two main memories I still maintain from that trip—the awesome splendor of the Swiss Alps and central Switzerland and my reading Phil Yancey’s book, “The Bible Jesus Read” while on the trip. 

The bottom line of the book is the requirement of faith that God has for His people.  From the patriarchs to Job to the prophets and the Israelites, God required faithfulness.  Faithfulness, in part, means to remember Him always and the think about Him, thank Him, enjoy Him, and worship Him always.  Do you do this all the time?  Perhaps at periodic intervals throughout the day, yes, you do.  Yet, you likely don’t include Him in everything.  Otherwise, you would not overeat and watch excessive TV and do other things that do not glorify God.  Faithfulness also means going out, doing His work, telling others about Him, acts that you know you do not do much of or perhaps could do more than you are now. 

As I read and thought about Yancey’s comments on Job, Moses, the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and the prophets, I realized that faith undergirds everything.  Faith is most challenged, interestingly, when things in life are going well.  You don’t rely on God and His leading you when you are healthy, you have a nice job, your family doing well, and things in life are good.  Of course, this changes once you life starts encountering the inevitable storms of illness, pain, loss, failure, drudgery, disappointment, and so forth.  Yet, the wish of the Lord is that you would be inclined--that you would give Him priority—to respect and reverence and obey Him no matter what is going on in your life.

Why must you practice these things?  God promises that not only will you be blessed, but also your children will be blessed, not only now but forever.  The phrase “it might go well” in the Hebrew means “to be good, be pleasing, be well, be glad”.  These good things are what the Lord God desires for you and your children. 

Note what seems to be the Lord’s exasperation---“Oh, that their hearts……..”.  Why?  Because most people simply never seem to learn to walk in the Lord’s ways.  He knows this because He gave His human creation free will to make our own choices and most humans choose to turn away from Him.  May that not be the case with you.  Remember His promises, especially for the sake of your children!