“She has caused the heart of God to prevail over the silence of God.”
From The Silence of God by Helmut Thielicke
The Syrophoenician woman did this in Matthew 15, and so did Jacob in Genesis 32. Both would not let God go until He blessed each one in their personal predicament.
Zach Williams sang a song, “There’s only Love in the Heart of God. “How so?
Romans 10:10 reveals heart, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;” (The righteousness that is of God by faith.)
Proverbs 23:26 reads “My son, give me thine heart.”
Is “heart”, then, a place of faith?
The heart of God is a broad topic, but a vital one. When we consider the heart of God, we must consider the mind of God. That mind is manifested throughout the pages of scripture which we read and try to comprehend.
Dr. Carl H. Stevens defined heart this way: “The heart represents
- the premise for all motivational thinking.
- the storehouse for our norms and standards for living.
- the basis for all of our operational behavior.”
Proverbs 23:7 concludes that “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”
From these definitions we can make some assumptions. First, our deepest motivations should be founded in the sphere of God. Secondly, our norms and standards for living also should be founded in His Word. Third, all of our operations of life, including our thinking and manual labor, must be rooted in His heart.
We may conclude from these definitions that heart is the very premise of our living. It is the core of our being, and is in fact ‘who we are’ in the deepest definition. Likewise, words like premise, core, deep, essence, relate to God as well.
Vital to our understanding, and vital to our lives, is this understanding of who God is. This is because our hearts have become deceitful and desperate in wickedness. Jeremiah 17:9, see Isaiah 1:8 What is His heart?
Let us examine the book of Exodus, to define our understanding of heart.
Exodus 3:6 begins, “Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians.”
In these passages, God conveys to Moses a very vivid picture of his heart, particularly his heart towards the children of Israel. Much later in Exodus 33, we find that Moses has not yet totally absorbed the wonderful heart of God, even though “the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” Exodus 33:11
Listen to what Moses says:
“Yet Thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
And God said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
And Moses said unto Him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. “Exodus 33:12-17
In closing ,it seems that situations and circumstances of life put us face to face with the dilemma again , a choice between the reluctance of God and contrarily, His heart.
The Syrophoenician woman , Jacob, and also Moses faced it. The Syrophoenician woman reckoned on the heart of the One she had only heard of, but studied in the scriptures under the heading of “Messiah.” She put the Word to the test. Jacob insisted that the “angel” bless him whom he wrestled with. He got a new identity. Moses, begged God’s presence as a token of His favor. He got it. All found a response in God’s heart..
Lastly, grow, grow, grow in grace and knowledge of Our Lord Christ. Effected in Christ we discover His obedient sacrifice for sin. In His death and blood shedding, wiped away is the old “stoney” heart, and given anew, a heart of flesh. Learn of Him in the tests of life. Find His gracious heart in your time of need. Love ya
Be First to Comment