“Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.” – Psalms 103:13 KJV

God Sees the Heart

There’s a tendency for people to think of God as The Angry Judge who is eager to bring down the mallet of condemnation upon them for every wrong thing that they’ve done. Some people even go so far as to assume that He hates them for failing, believing that He measures their worth by their works. But is this really true; does God hate us for failing? Listen, God doesn’t judge us by our ability to succeed, but by our willingness to keep trying. He doesn’t see us as utter failures when we fall short of His glory; rather, He sees us as sons and daughters whom He holds dear to His heart, even when we’ve messed up. And I know this to be true because the Bible assures us that the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

And there are numerous examples in the Bible to validate this claim. For even though the Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 KJV), it also speaks of people who were sinners as having been blameless and upright and perfect, not because their behavior was flawless, but because God has a different way of looking at people than we do. For when we merely look on the surface of life, He looks deep into the heart. Hence we often fail to see what God sees in us because we just simply don’t see Him as He is; that is, we don’t see Him as Love.

For example, Noah was acknowledged as “a just man, and perfect in his generations”, and as one who “walked with God” (Genesis 6:9); yet he had an issue with alcohol (Genesis 9:20-21). Job was declared to be ‘perfect and upright’ in God’s eyes (Job 1:1); yet he cursed the day of his birth and essentially grieved the fact that God gave him life (Job 3). Abraham was called the “Friend of God” (James 2:23); yet he placed more trust in a lie than he did in the God who assured him that he and his offspring would be blessed (Genesis 12:9-13). Moses was declared to be “very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3); yet he had an anger problem (Exodus 20:11-12; Numbers 20:11). Then there was David, whom God declared to be a man after His own heart (1Samuel 13:14); he not only committed adultery, he even caused the death of an innocent man in an attempt to hide his sin (2Samuel 11:1-17).

And let’s not forget about those disciples of Jesus, who pridefully argued over who would be the greatest among them in the Kingdom of Heaven (Luke 22:24). They even chose to sleep while Jesus was deeply distressed. He had asked them to stay awake and pray, but they wouldn’t (Matthew 26:36-41). When they should have stayed awake to encourage Jesus, they slept instead. And to make matters worse, they all abandoned Him shortly after He was betrayed. In fact, not long before this had happened, one of them tried to convince Jesus that he would never leave Him; yet he denied that He knew Him three times. (Matthew 26:36-46, 56; Luke 22:55-60). Of course, the irony in all of this is that Jesus foreknew that they would do all of these things; yet He still loved them all the same and commissioned them to bring the gospel to all the world (Matthew 28:19-20).

So, what is your picture of God now? What does all of this tell you about His character? It should tell you that God is exactly what the Bible declares Him to be: Love (1John 4:8).

Blessed Assurance

If you have given your life to Jesus Christ then you can be assured to know that you are no longer under the condemnation of the law. Instead, you are blameless and perfect before God’s eyes, not because of your works, but because your life is centered in Christ and is therefore covered by His blood (Colossians 1:21-22). Of course, that doesn’t mean you are free to live as you please with impunity. Being under grace has nothing to do with being lawless, but everything to do with being completely dependent on God. So, please don’t think that I’m suggesting that God was pleased with the sins that were committed by those people mentioned above. Indeed, God hates sin! However, what made all the difference with those men was that they were remorseful and sought to make things right with God upon discovering the error of their ways. And that is what was pleasing to God! Unfortunately, many people remain in their sins because they covet evil. Such people really don’t belong to God, but to Satan.

“If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” – 1 John 1:6-7 KJV

“He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” – 1 John 2:4 KJV

God is willing to forgive us of our sins and put us back on our feet again, but if we aren’t willing to invite Him into our lives to do His good work in and through us, then how can we sincerely say that we love Him more than we cherish our sin? Those who belong to God will foster a genuine love for Him; they will take His word seriously, and thus allow Him to mold and fashion their lives according to His will. Hence they have the assurance of God’s blessing, not because they are flawless, but because His fingerprints on their hearts.

The Measure of Our Worth

People are often filled with sadness and dissatisfaction because they work hard to try to earn God’s favor, while failing to discern His love. They think of Him as always being angry with them because they fail; yet they don’t see Him as the loving Father who encourages them to get back up and keep trying. It’s no wonder that there are so many Christians who walk about with a sad face; they don’t know the joy of the LORD because they haven’t seen the face of God; that is, they haven’t seen the God who smiles.

Is this how you’ve been feeling about God? If so, then cast those negative thoughts into the sea of His love and mercy, believing that He has paid the ultimate price to be with you and is not willing to give you up for anything. Satan is the one who wants you to believe that God measures your worth by your works; he wants you to believe that you’re an utter failure in God’s eyes, and that you’re worthless. Moreover he wants you to think of God as the Father who can’t be pleased so that you will throw in the towel and give up on trying to serve Jesus. Don’t listen to Satan; for He is a liar. Instead, listen to God.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:11-13 KJV

Even if you fail to show your love for God, He will never stop loving you. So, don’t think of Him as an angry Judge who is eager to bring the mallet of condemnation down upon you because you’ve failed to obey Him at some point in your life; rather, think of Him as the God who embraces you with love and kindness, and as the loving Father who stands by your side, encouraging you to get back up and keep trying. Think of Him as the God who smiles!