A Heart Loyal To God

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9a NKJV).

One of my favorite verses in the entire Bible comes out of 2 Chronicles. I find it fascinating that the Lord is moving to and fro throughout the whole earth, looking actively for a certain type of person—one whose heart is perfect toward God. And what happens when Whenever the Lord finds such a person? God shows Himself strong on the believer’s behalf.

Interesting. God is waiting (and wanting) to move openly in power and blessing. And God is pleased to show His approval of that believer’s life.

I grew up in a church background based on “hope.” I put that in quotation marks because it would really be described as “wishing,” not as biblical hope. I don’t write that as a slam on my spiritual elders. I am grateful for them. But there was a huge element of “God doesn’t work that way anymore” theology. You know, “that stuff ended when the Apostles died.”

Yet here in an Old Testament passage, I read a promise as exciting and powerful as anything in the Book of Acts.

And that promise is alive for believers today.

I follow the M’Cheyne Bible reading calendar, and at the time I’m writing this post, my Genesis passages deal with the life of Abraham.

Abraham is certainly a man who had such a loyal heart. In Genesis 17, God challenged him.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.’”
Genesis 17:1 (NKJV)

Twenty-four years earlier, God’s all came to a seventy-five year old Abraham. Now he was at the place where God was going to fulfill a glorious promise (made when Abraham was living in Ur of the Chaldees). God’s eyes were locked on this man whose heart was loyal to Him.

According to Romans 4, Abraham is the father of all who believe, so his life and faith are a pattern to all believers. And God’s requirements were clear: Walk before Me and be blameless. In Exodus, God shared the first step in perfection:

And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me."
Exodus 20:1-3 (NKJV)

In this time of economic difficulty, I am challenged. Do I have a god before the perfect, real Triune God? Is money a god? Fear?

To be perfect toward God means that one has no other gods before Him.