The beauty of an undivided heart, Part II

Eze 39:25-28 - “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid, when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, and through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore.

A lack of fear always seems to be front and center as a place of promise for his people. With so much to be afraid of, God promises that for His own glory, he will keep them safe. And I think that is a great thing for us to contemplate. As father protects his own children and takes glory in protecting them, how much more the Father for his children. When we fear, we are doubting not only his strength, but also the that brings Him glory. Everytime we do not fear in the face of fear, we bring glory to the Lord of all Lords. Peace in the midst of the storm witnesses that there is a God and that He is big enough to shelter us from all our storms.

Eze 11:19-24 - I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD.” Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. The glory of the LORD went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it. The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia in the vision given by the Spirit of God. Then the vision I had seen went up from me,

The connection between fearing God and His name and praising and glorifying God in the passage is no accident. When we have an undivided heart, it allows us to focus solely on walking in the truth of God. When we walk in the truth of God, we will fear God. Worship is in essence fearing God. It is recognizing the power and might and soverighty of God and saying, “Who is like you?” Our fear of God is linked closely to His glory. And when we fear anything other that God, we steal his glory, we give it away… So pray for an undivided heart so that God may his Glory.