God Speaking

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

(2 Chronicles 16 : 9)

Just recently one of my sons-in-law was to pick up a lady from an international airport. To make sure she could find him in the crowd my son-in-law had a large sign which he held up above his head with her name on it so she knew who was the right person who was meeting her. I was thinking about this when I read this verse in Chronicles and thought perhaps that is how the Lord finds us when he is roaming the earth because we have his name emblazoned on us so when he sees us, he knows who we are and that we are committed to him and we, knowing when he sees us wherever we are, will be lifted up and be strengthened by him. 

The word commit is a very powerful word and can be used with very different meanings. We can commit a crime, or we can commit ourselves to serving God. We can be committed to evil practices, or we can be committed to spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. 

So, what does it mean to us to strive to be committed to the Lord.

In the second book of Kings, Solomon who had the gift of wisdom, explains this to the children of Israel as he dedicates the temple. 

“But your hearts must be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and to obey his commands as at this time.” (2 Kings 8: 61)

When we follow the Lord’s commands, we are demonstrating to others the joy it can be to have his strength supporting us through life and to lead them to seek the same source of strength. It is not a burdensome task to obey him, but a wonderful way to stay close to him on the path of life in fact we are reminded in Proverbs that he will be guiding us the right way. 

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” (Proverbs 16 : 3)

In our church we sing a beautiful song, and the chorus is 

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

I was surprised to read these words in the book of Nehemiah (8 : 10) 

The Jews had gone back to Israel to redeem their land and rebuilding was difficult, but this lovely message of strength from the Lord encouraged then to keep going. The message is the same for us when we are committed to the Lord it will be a joy to be strengthened by him as we walk on the path of life by holding tightly to him and following in his footsteps.