Daily PresenceSample

“With all my heart” is a loaded phrase! Songs and Valentine's Day cards have made a killing with the idea of loving someone with all our heart. Coaches spend time teaching players to play with heart. It’s the idea of doing something with all that we have. To put our heart in something means to invest ourselves, to care about something, to give it all we have. We don’t give up; we press forward, and we won’t compromise.

Samuel is telling the people to return to the Lord with all their heart, and if they do then everything will change. They had been at war for a long time. They had brought the ark before them and the mere presence of the ark scared the Philistines so badly that they attacked Israel believing if they didn’t win, Israel would wipe them out. On the other hand, Israel had the ark of God with them, and the other army recognized the power of God, yet lost and the ark was captured.

It didn’t go well for the Philistines even though they captured the ark, however. In fact, bad thing after bad thing happened until they sent the ark back to Israel with offerings to get forgiveness from God.

So now years later, the ark is back in Israel. Samuel tells them in Chapter 7 v. 3, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” It reminds them that they can’t just say they trust in the Lord. He tells them to return with all your heart.

Go back to Valentine’s day. Can you imagine saying, “I love you with my whole heart, but I am going to continue to date other people, that’s ok right?” You cannot give your whole heart to a person, an issue, or an idea and still try to give it to another. The reason having the ark failed the first time was because their hearts didn’t belong to God. Maybe we do the right thing but it’s just as important to make sure our heart is there, too. So with our whole hearts let us turn to God no matter what drives us there.