“All of Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and He was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.” (2 Chronicles 15:15 NIV)
Our friends and mentors brought this scripture to intercessory prayer yesterday morning, and it stuck to my soul like a sticker bur on a pant leg. King Asa had led his people toward whole-hearted commitment to a holy God. I think about our people; the men and women and children of Live Oak Assembly, and I desire to lead others toward the same level of devotion.
It’s remarkable, really. A wholehearted life devoted to God experiences rest on every side. Isn’t that what is missing in our current culture? Aren’t we hurried, harried and unsatisfied? A divided heart is a heart engaged in continual battle. Lesser affections and appetites and idols are endlessly warring for our worship and worry. But a heart eagerly seeking after God is unconcerned with earthly distractions. A heart set on Him is far too focused on the the divine to be torn away by the trivial.
But wait, there’s more…
“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are committed to Him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9a NIV)
The Lord is on the lookout for wholehearted God-seekers. When He finds them, He promises to strengthen them. I can’t speak for anyone else, but my calling is too big to carry and complete on my own. I cannot fulfill the divine directive given to me apart from holy help. And here scripture assures me: if I seek God with my whole heart, if I love Him with all my strength and mind and soul, I’m going to find Him and He is going to bring exactly what I’m lacking.
According to Brené Brown, wholeheartedness includes making peace with our weakness. And God tells us that our weakness makes room in our frames for His strength.
“But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV)
Wholehearted seeking is not burying our head in the sand about our needfulness, but choosing to got after God with every fiber of our being, absolutely convinced that He looks after His own, especially the weakest ones.
Lord, today we wowed by Your attentiveness. Turns out, when we pursue You fervidly, You promise to see us and meet our weakness with Your strength. Help us today, to develop undivided hearts. Highlight our hypocrisies and disloyalties. Reveal our inconsistencies. Unite our heart in our pursuit of You. Show up in our story and address our shortfalls. Be made known through our surrendered frames and let our flesh give way to glory. Amen.