“‘All right then,’ Joshua said, ‘destroy the idols among you,
and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.’”
Joshua 24:23
In 1975 I began noticing a reoccurring word in the Bible, and heart became the first word study in my very first journal. From then on, the theme of my life has been, “Above all else, guard your heart, for out of it flows the issues of life.” (Prov. 4:23)
Joshua wanted the Israelites to grasp the importance of the heart. They had boldly declared they would serve the Lord, but Joshua warned them, “YOU are not able to serve the Lord…” (v. 19) On their own, they could easily abandon God to serve idols and end up being destroyed.
But when the people declared a second time, “No, we will serve the Lord,” Joshua gave them the secret to keeping their promise, “…destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the Lord.” In other words, turn their hearts FROM idols TO God. When hearts are turned to God, He can work miracles. Like Moses said earlier, “The Lord your God will change your heart…SO THAT you will love him with all your heart…” (Deut. 30:6)
It is so easy to turn our hearts toward everything BUT God! So I ask myself today, “Where is MY heart turned? On what does MY heart focus?”
God can only change my heart if I turn my heart to Him!
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