The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in 1 John 3:19-20,
“This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”
John tells us it is when we are expressing love in action it provides a confidence that we “belong to the truth”. He gives us this insight as he acknowledges that at times we struggle with ourselves. John speaks of our hearts condemning us.
There have been many, many occasions when I felt guilty, conflicted with my conscience for good cause. Making poor decisions, opting for that which I knew would not be the Lord’s best for me, caught up in sin, etc. But also I think there have been times when I have struggled with myself for no good reason. John points to how we can “set our hearts at rest” in God’s presence when our hearts condemn us. God is greater than our hearts. Because we continue with a sin nature within us, because we are still subject to temptations, because we have not experienced a complete regeneration as we await resurrection day, some days we are just not quite “right”. Sometimes we travel the roller coaster ride of ups and downs in our relationship with the Lord. Some days we feel close to him, other days we don’t. At times we feel an intimacy with our Lord and at other times we feel estranged and that our prayers go nowhere.
Our Lord knows this and through John he tells us how we can set our hearts at rest in his presence, how we can know, how we can remind ourselves that we belong to the truth: express love through action to those around us! It is a certain evidence we have been changed from within. It expresses the presence of the Holy Spirit residing within us.
See how the Lord takes interest in our weaknesses and failings! He provides for our every need! Here we area told to love those around us not as a “legal requirement” but, in this verse, as an antidote for needless struggle within ourselves. Our God is greater than our hearts and he knows everything… literally!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!
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