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Hearts and Motives

When David chose his son Solomon to succeed him on the throne, David charged him to serve God “with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind” (1 Chronicles 28:9). David made this charge because he knew that God’s requirement is full, wholehearted devotion. The Lord is concerned about external choices and behavior (see Joshua 24:15), but he goes much deeper, into the inner self (see 1 Samuel 16:7).

To love God with a “willing mind” is to grow in bringing and surrendering our whole selves to him, to take responsibility for our thinking, feelings, motives and for the development of our mind. Many people often do not consider what they think about or feel. They just let their thoughts live inside their heads without observing or questioning them. But our thoughts and feelings are an important aspect of who we are, and when we pay attention to what goes through our heads and hearts, we find out a lot about the state of our being. God knows that our insides will ultimately determine our choices on the outside (see Luke 6:43 – 45).

God wants us to follow him and love him with our whole being: heart, soul, mind and strength (see Mark 12:30). He knows what is inside us anyway, and he wants a full relationship with us. So we need to bring whatever is inside us, good or bad, to him, and he will help and guide us.