Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Psalm 86:11

Question:  On a scale of 1 to 10, how great is your confidence in God?  When you were a kid, did you ever pick a daisy or a spring flower and pull off the petals one at a time saying, “She loves me, she loves me not; she loves me, she loves me not”?  Almost always, you end up with the “she loves me not” finish.  In romance, a divided heart leaves you unsatisfied.  You want to know that someone is fully committed to you and that his or her heart, as the case may be, is not divided.

So is it with God.  The Bible talks about those whose “hearts are fully committed to him,” those who have undivided hearts.  Would you include yourself in that number?  If so, without any question, God weighs in on your side, or better put, you have made the decision to stand with Him, and God plus one always make a majority.

“For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him,” says 2 Chronicles 16:9.   The psalmist cried, “Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name” (Psalm 86:11).  There are five marks of a person whose heart is undivided, whose heart is fully committed to the Lord.  Use them as a checklist to see where you stand on this important issue.

#1:  You trust completely.  This doesn’t mean you have to know or understand everything that happens. You don’t; you never will. But it means when your heart is undivided, you have the confidence that God knows, and that He is a good God, and you trust Him no matter how strange circumstances may appear.  Living in an imperfect broken world, a lot of things don’t make sense to us, and that’s where the element of faith enters.

#2:  You rely upon God as opposed to making things happen yourself.  This doesn’t suggest that you sit on your hands and ask God to plant your garden, or wash your dishes, or do your work for you.  No, I doubt that Jesus ever slipped around the carpenter shop and did a miracle so he could avoid doing his chores. But when your heart is undivided towards God your confidence is that God will do what you cannot accomplish yourself.

#3:  You strive to practice unquestioning obedience in your life.  It’s the attitude that you don’t debate morality, or doing the right thing, or following the dictates of Scripture.  It’s living out the motto: “God said it; I believe it; that settles it.”  No, it isn’t always easily done. There is an ongoing battle of the wills, or whose agenda you will follow; but when your heart is fully committed to the Lord, the decision to follow the Lord is no longer debated. You live it.

#4:  You exercise simple faith.  This is the result of understanding that God is a good God and you can trust Him.  The more you know of God’s nature and character, the more you know of His love for you, the more confidence you will have that trusting Him makes sense.

#5:  You are totally committed to His will and purpose in your life.   An undivided heart has run up the white flag of surrender, and over the castle of your life, flies the banner of joy.  Jesus Christ has become your Lord, and you strive to follow Him.  No, you’re not perfect, but you are committed.  You’ve gone public and you’ve run up your colors.

There you have five marks of the person with an undivided heart—trust, reliance, obedience, simple faith, and commitment.

 

Resource reading: Psalm 86:11-17