Day 202: Humble Hearts

2 Corinthians 6;14-7:16; 2 Kings 19; Nehemiah 1

In 2 Corinthians, Paul makes some really wonderful points. The first is, followers of Christ should have nothing to do with, or anything in common with those who are not followers of Christ. He isn't saying that we shouldn't share the gospel with them, but that our lifestyle and hearts and minds should be completely different. Someone should look at a believer's life and know they are a Christian. They should not look at a Christian and see that they are similar to a non-Christian. We are God's children, set apart, made holy, redeemed, and that should change us completely. The things we do, focus on, and say should be completely different from what the world does, focuses on, and says.
Secondly, he talks about hurt feelings and how God uses them to make change. God uses broken hearts to show his love and offer his salvation. A proud heart will not accept grace, it doesn't need grace. But a humble heart, a soul who is weak or hurting, they recognize their need for God and God can transform them. This is why some people who know about God have never developed a relationship with him. They've had rough times but their hearts have never been completely humbled and broken; they have not hit rock bottom to where they have nothing left and so they reach out to The Lord. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't come to know Christ until he is all they have left. But, God knows this, and so he uses our brokenness to connect to us.

So in the previous chapter, Hezekiah had gotten terrible news from an enemy. He was worried about his people, about his enemies insulting God, and the outcome of all of this. Hezekiah knew that they weren't invincible if The Lord had not decided that. He was still afraid, but the first thing he did was head to the temple. He knew that if survival was possible, it would be possible only because of The Lord. Hezekiah offers up a prayer and God answers him. The Lord promises that he will protect them. He even tells them that they will eat crops that grow on their own for two years. This could be literal, but it could also be a metaphor for the success and prosperity they will have. Their life and victory will not be something that Hezekiah has any control over (hence the crop that they don't plant) and that they will be able to rely on The Lord for survival.

Many of the greats of the Bible have prayers recorded. What I love about them is that the first thing out of their mouth is often praise to God. They give God glory, tell of his greatness, worship him, before they ever lift up their request or plea. So often we start our prayers with "God, please..." rather than with "Lord, you..." It's important to understand that we were made for God, he wasn't made for us. Our faith will be completely different depending on which of those are the core of our beliefs. I've tried really hard over the past couple of years to start my prayers, not with requests, but with praise. God deserves it, and it does good things to my heart.