What Does It Mean to Have a Willing Heart?
Any parent knows the scene. You ask your kid to clean their room, and technically they do it, but they also stomp down the hall, sigh loud enough for the neighbors to hear, and shut the door a little harder than necessary. The room gets clean, yet nobody walks away from that moment feeling good about it. What we really wanted wasn’t just a clean room. We wanted a kid who was willing.
It’s uncomfortable to realize how often we treat God the same way. We show up to church because we’re supposed to, open our Bible because it’s on the checklist, and give because it feels like the right thing to do even when our heart isn’t anywhere close to it. On the outside it all looks fine, and most people would never know the difference. God does.
Scripture has a sobering line about a king named Amaziah. Second Chronicles 25:2 says he “did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a loyal heart.” His actions checked out while his heart quietly didn’t. As Pastor Evan put it on Sunday, God isn’t looking at the acts we do so much as the heart we’re doing them with. A fake smile might fool the people around us, but it has never once fooled Him.
That might sound intimidating, but it’s actually good news. Second Chronicles 16:9 tells us that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. God is actively looking for people He can help. He isn’t scanning for flawless records, because none of us would make the cut. He’s looking for hearts that are still responding to Him, and when He finds one, He wants to show up with His strength, His grace, and everything He has made available. In a lot of our lives, we aren’t waiting on God nearly as much as He’s waiting on us to cooperate.
Part of a willing heart is being open to correction, and that’s where many of us get stuck. We want God’s blessing, protection, and healing, but when He comes with instruction we’d rather He kept that part to Himself. Some of that comes from experience. Many of us were corrected by people who did it harshly, so we assume that if God is correcting us, something must be terribly wrong. Hebrews 12:6 tells a different story: “For whom the Lord loves He chastens.” His correction is an expression of His love, not His rejection. Most of the time it looks less like a dramatic confrontation and more like the small steering adjustments you make without thinking on a long drive, the ones that keep you on the road.
The life of King Asa shows how much this matters. Early on, Asa tore down idols, led the nation back to God, and even removed his own grandmother from her position because she refused to honor the Lord. Years later, facing a threat, he leaned on the king of Syria instead of on God. The Lord sent a prophet named Hanani to correct him, and Asa was so enraged that he threw the man in prison. The same king who once responded to God’s word so eagerly had grown resistant to it.
That’s the danger for all of us. Being willing yesterday doesn’t guarantee we’ll be willing today, and we can’t live on what we surrendered five years ago or point to everything we’ve already done as if it settles the matter. This is part of why Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread. Every day we come back to Him for what we need, including the adjustments.
Pastor Evan shared about the night she sensed God asking her and Pastor Nate to step into pastoring. She was in her early twenties with three small kids at home, and she wasn’t someone who enjoyed being in front of people, so fear and insecurity were loud. Lying awake, she sensed the Lord telling her, “If you say yes, I’ll give you the heart.” She said yes, and the love and grace she needed for the people of Alma came with it. Her story is a reminder that God doesn’t ask us to manufacture willingness on our own. He meets our yes with everything that yes requires.
So here’s a step for this week. Find fifteen quiet minutes, whether that’s a walk, a drive with the radio off, or the kitchen table before anyone else is up. Pray the words of Psalm 139:23, “Search me, O God, and know my heart,” and then ask Him one honest question: “Is there anything You’ve been saying to me that I’ve been pushing back on?” Write down whatever comes to mind and make that one adjustment before the week is over. It doesn’t need to be a big production, only a real yes.
It’s uncomfortable to realize how often we treat God the same way. We show up to church because we’re supposed to, open our Bible because it’s on the checklist, and give because it feels like the right thing to do even when our heart isn’t anywhere close to it. On the outside it all looks fine, and most people would never know the difference. God does.
Scripture has a sobering line about a king named Amaziah. Second Chronicles 25:2 says he “did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a loyal heart.” His actions checked out while his heart quietly didn’t. As Pastor Evan put it on Sunday, God isn’t looking at the acts we do so much as the heart we’re doing them with. A fake smile might fool the people around us, but it has never once fooled Him.
That might sound intimidating, but it’s actually good news. Second Chronicles 16:9 tells us that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. God is actively looking for people He can help. He isn’t scanning for flawless records, because none of us would make the cut. He’s looking for hearts that are still responding to Him, and when He finds one, He wants to show up with His strength, His grace, and everything He has made available. In a lot of our lives, we aren’t waiting on God nearly as much as He’s waiting on us to cooperate.
Part of a willing heart is being open to correction, and that’s where many of us get stuck. We want God’s blessing, protection, and healing, but when He comes with instruction we’d rather He kept that part to Himself. Some of that comes from experience. Many of us were corrected by people who did it harshly, so we assume that if God is correcting us, something must be terribly wrong. Hebrews 12:6 tells a different story: “For whom the Lord loves He chastens.” His correction is an expression of His love, not His rejection. Most of the time it looks less like a dramatic confrontation and more like the small steering adjustments you make without thinking on a long drive, the ones that keep you on the road.
The life of King Asa shows how much this matters. Early on, Asa tore down idols, led the nation back to God, and even removed his own grandmother from her position because she refused to honor the Lord. Years later, facing a threat, he leaned on the king of Syria instead of on God. The Lord sent a prophet named Hanani to correct him, and Asa was so enraged that he threw the man in prison. The same king who once responded to God’s word so eagerly had grown resistant to it.
That’s the danger for all of us. Being willing yesterday doesn’t guarantee we’ll be willing today, and we can’t live on what we surrendered five years ago or point to everything we’ve already done as if it settles the matter. This is part of why Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread. Every day we come back to Him for what we need, including the adjustments.
Pastor Evan shared about the night she sensed God asking her and Pastor Nate to step into pastoring. She was in her early twenties with three small kids at home, and she wasn’t someone who enjoyed being in front of people, so fear and insecurity were loud. Lying awake, she sensed the Lord telling her, “If you say yes, I’ll give you the heart.” She said yes, and the love and grace she needed for the people of Alma came with it. Her story is a reminder that God doesn’t ask us to manufacture willingness on our own. He meets our yes with everything that yes requires.
So here’s a step for this week. Find fifteen quiet minutes, whether that’s a walk, a drive with the radio off, or the kitchen table before anyone else is up. Pray the words of Psalm 139:23, “Search me, O God, and know my heart,” and then ask Him one honest question: “Is there anything You’ve been saying to me that I’ve been pushing back on?” Write down whatever comes to mind and make that one adjustment before the week is over. It doesn’t need to be a big production, only a real yes.