"A WILLING HEART"
BY
RANDALL J. BREWER
The good life is to have a willing heart that will obey God no matter what He tells you to do. The key to living a happy, fulfilled, satisfied life is really very simple. Just be the person God made you to be and have the courage to do what God called you to do. He has a unique and individual plan for your life and the way to becoming a champion for God is to discover that plan and follow it wherever it may lead. Make it your desire to follow and please Him and you won't be thrown off the path by life's demands and distractions.
Why is obedience part of the good life? Because when you obey God willingly He will reward you abundantly. Is. 1:19,20 says, "If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken." God does not look at the outward appearance of a person but He does look at the condition of the heart. The willingness of your heart, followed by the obedience of your actions, determines the acceptability and the reward for all that you do in your service unto the Lord.
God wants you to enjoy your life and He has given you the opportunity to eat the good of the land. This is a description of the good life and all you have to do to walk in all it's fullness is obey God with a willing heart. You can be obedient all you want but if you're not willing it won't do you any good. You must be willing…and obedient. It's the heart that matters. 2 Chron. 16:9 says, "For 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." When God shows Himself strong on your behalf you will definitely live the good life.
God is looking for a heart that is right toward Him. A person with a loyal heart is a person who is willing to do whatever God wants done without giving it a second thought. This person will obey God with no reluctance or hesitation and will do so without murmuring or complaining about the task he's been asked to do. People are obedient all the time but God always looks at the motive of the heart. 1 Sam. 16:7b says, "For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
David writes in Ps. 110:3a, "Your people shall be willing in the day of Your power…" Two other translations say, "Your people will offer themselves willingly…" and "Your people will volunteer freely…" Is there a connection between God's manifested power and your willingness? At the Pool of Bethesda Jesus asked the crippled man, "Will thou be made whole?" In other words, "Are you willing?" When the man affirmed that he was the healing power of Jesus touched his life and he picked up his bed and walked away. If you're not experiencing God's best then get more willing and more obedient.
The mistake many people make is they focus too much on the "doing" and not enough on the "willing". It is not enough to just obey God. God wants you to want to! He wants you to be willing. Elevate your willingness and obedience to match God's Word. Press toward the mark to become just like Jesus. Live like Him, pray like Him, love like Him, receive like Him, obey like Him. How did Jesus obey? He did it willingly. Jesus told the Father, "Not My will but Your will be done." 1 John 2:6 says, "He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked."
The condition of your heart is what matters to God. In fact, it's a matter of life and death because it's the heart that determines if you are willing or unwilling to obey Him. Consider 2 Chron. 25:1,2, "Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a loyal heart." Amaziah did the right thing but his heart wasn't right. We are commanded not to judge people because we don't know their heart and motives even if they do the right thing. Only God can judge righteously because He looks at the condition of the heart.
A more popular example of obeying God with the wrong motive is found in Matt. 6. Jesus said in vs. 2, "Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men." We also read in vs. 5, "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the street, that they may be seen by men."
Finally we read in vs. 7, "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathens do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."
The religious leaders in the days of Jesus were all doing what God commands all of us to do. Doing charitable deeds and praying is all part of a Godly lifestyle and will be rewarded by God if they are done with the proper motive. These leaders, however, had an evil heart and all they wanted was the praise of their fellow man. Because their motives were wrong and their hearts were evil Jesus called them "hypocrites" and "heathen". We need to all strive to have a willing and loyal heart so that Jesus will never use these words to describe us.
On the other hand, it's possible to make mistakes and still have a perfect heart toward God. This is good news because God doesn't look at our mistakes, He looks at the heart. In 2 Chron. 15 Asa rose up to lead Israel at a time when the nation was "without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law"(vs.3). The people worshipped false idols and "great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the land" (vs. 5). Asa rose up and removed all the idols (vs. 8) and all the people "entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and all their soul."
The people took an oath before the Lord that "whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. Then they took an oath before the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams' horns. And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around" (vs. 13-15).
Asa led these people to the good life but look what happened next. Vs. 16,17 says, "Also he removed Maachah, the mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah; and Asa cut down her obscene image, crushed it, and burned it by the Brook Kidion. But the high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days." In the midst of all the good that Asa did a mistake was made. The "high places" where pagan worship took place were not removed and thus was a constant reminder of the abomination that had taken place. Asa made mistakes but his heart was perfect and complete toward God.
Being fully willing and fully obedient will keep you busy all day long. If you want what you do to be accepted and blessed then you must do it willingly. Remember, the manifested power of God is based on the willingness of His people. God sees the heart. God just doesn't want you to pray, He wants you to want to! He doesn't just want you to witness to somebody, He wants you to want to! Don't obey God out of a sense of religious duty or obligation. Do it because you want to.
Paul writes in 2 Cor. 9:7, "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." This same attitude about giving should apply to all we do for the Lord. We must be cheerful and prompt to obey God. We must be willing! If not, stop what you're doing, get willing first, and then obey God. The Lord told Moses in Ex. 35:5, "Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord, gold, silver, and bronze."
Notice the peoples' response in vs. 21,22a, "Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord's offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting for all it's service and for the holy garments. They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart…" It is the willingness of the heart that makes the gift acceptable. Chapter 36 records that these people were so willing to give they had to be restrained from giving more.
One thing a lot of people don't realize is that in God's eyes having it in your heart is the same thing as doing it. When Abraham laid his son Isaac on the altar to offer him up to the Lord he did not know the angel was going to stop him. Heb. 11:17 says Abraham offered up Isaac but what happened is that he was willing to offer up his only son. His willingness made the sacrifice acceptable. If you do it in your heart, you do it. If you do it but your heart is not in it, then in God's eyes you didn't do it.
In heaven people will receive rewards for what was in their heart even if they didn't get the chance to do it in the natural. God rewards you not for what you were able or unable to do but according to your heart. With a true heart you want to obey God always and please Him. If you make a mistake or come up short it wasn't because you weren't trying. You wanted to and this is what God sees. That alone should make you want to want to.
God wants you blessed so get willing. Don't be spiritually lazy. Submit to God and yield to His will. David writes in Ps. 40:8, "I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart." Unwillingness prevents God from speaking to you. It keeps you in a foggy state and darkens your understanding. It will cloud your judgment and you won't know if you're coming or going. But with a willing heart comes spiritual discernment. Jesus said in John 7:17, "If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority." When you get willing it is amazing how quickly and powerfully things can change.
When you are unwilling you hinder the plan of God for your life. The good news is that the moment you get willing God will give you revelation and direction for your life and ministry. In John 6 Jesus was walking on the water and when the disciples saw Him they were afraid. Vs. 20,21 says, "But He said to them, 'It is I; do not be afraid.' Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going."
A few moments before this happened the disciples were not willing and they thought Jesus was a ghost. After they got willing the boat was miraculously transported to their destination. Connected to this miracle was their willingness. When you get willing you immediately start to move toward where you're supposed to go. The disciples did a whole lot of rowing but got no where…until they got willing. The quicker you get willing, the quicker you get there and the easier it is on you. The wisest thing you can ever do is get willing.
Jonah learned this the hard way. God called Jonah to preach repentance to the wicked Ninevites but the prophet was unwilling to obey the call on his life. He ran away from his assignment and began a journey to Tarshish instead, a journey where he learned the hard way that unwillingness can get you in a whole lot of trouble. Today millions of people all over the world are doing the same thing. They are running from the presence of God and the call He placed on their lives.
Jonah 1:4 says, "But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up." The Lord has a way of getting our attention, doesn't He? Vs. 13, "Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them." Like the disciples in John 6, they did a whole lot of rowing but got no where. This is what unwillingness does to you.
Jonah knew this storm was because of his disobedience so he told the men to throw him overboard. "So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from it's raging" (vs. 15). They got rid of Jonah's unwillingness and the sea grew calm. If peace is missing from your life, check and see if there is any unwillingness in your life. Jonah did but look where he did it from.
Jonah 2:1,2 says, "Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish's belly. And he said: 'I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice.'" People don't realize this but Jonah died in the belly of the whale and went to hell. This is where unwillingness will take you. If not literally then for sure all the hosts of darkness will be unleashed in your life. It can't be emphasized enough: if you're not willing, get willing. Eventually Jonah did and a great revival took place in the city of Ninevah.
It's a privilege and an honor to be used by God. It's not always easy, but it is an honor. Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 12:15, "And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved." Paul was glad God counted him worthy to be put into the ministry. King Agrippa was almost persuaded (Acts 26: 27, 28) but almost is not good enough. That's just like saying "I almost went to church" or "I almost went to work". If you were almost willing then you are not willing. God wants you hot or cold. Almost is not good enough.
The Lord is calling for total commitment to Him and His will. The Lord requires that we lay our lives down for Him. Nothing less will do. You can't be a casual "Sunday" Christian and fulfill the will of God and receive the blessing of God. He has asked for and required more than people realize. Jesus said to count the cost and daily take up your cross and follow Him. Some people get close enough to God to get their prayers answered and then afterward pull away and draw back. To follow God fully you must die to yourself. Yes, you will lose your life but then you'll find true life, you'll find the good life.
Do you want all God has for you? If so, God wants all of you. Raise your commitment level to God and be willing to do anything for Him. Be fully willing and fully obedient. If you are not satisfied with your level of willingness then ask God to help you. Confess out loud Phil. 2:13 which says, "for it is God Who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." Pray the words of Heb. 13:20,21, "Now may the God of peace Who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."
Loving God is what motivates you (see Phil. 1:9-11). If you love God you'll want to please Him. You'll want to want to. Love grows. You can love God more today than you did yesterday. And as your love grows, so will your desire to please Him. Paul was willing. Jonah was not willing. King Agrippa was almost willing. Which are you? Decide quickly for it truly is a matter of life and death.
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