Heart Worship

    The most important aspect of a believers worship to God is the heart attitude.   Everything that accompanies worship; love, devotion, submission, obedience, the sense of awe of God, all starts in the heart.  1 Samuel 16:7b says:  

"...for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; 
for man looketh on the outward appearance, 
but the LORD looketh on the heart."

    This is probably the clearest verse telling believers that the Lord looks at the heart of man.  The worship of a believer is in the heart and the Lord is the only One that can see that heart.  In a previous post, the illustration of a little girl picking flowers for her mom was used and the mom was pleased with the heart of her little girl.  Her mom couldn't really know what was in her girls heart, but could only tell by the offering that was given.  Once the girl knew the boundaries, but still picked from the same bed of flowers, her mom could still sense love in her child, but it's not a pure love anymore, but mixed with something impure.  God wants a pure love offering from His children.  Every motive, every thought, every compromise that believers condone is brought before God, either voluntarily or before the judgment seat at that final judgement.  
    There is one man in particular that comes to mind and his heart can be known from reading his story.  Jonah did not have the right heart's attitude to serve the Lord.  In fact, Jonah admits (chapter 1 verse 10) to the shipment that he was fleeing from the Lord. The only logical conclusion is that Jonah did not want to obey.  Jonah heart was so in rebellion that he even fell asleep.  Earlier, in verse 5, Jonah was fast asleep.  Jonah was comfortable in his rebellion and turning away from the Lord. The Lord had to bring Jonah to the place where he "cried...unto the LORD...O LORD, my God."  
    
     It is also both, encouraging and fearful to know that God is omniscient.  God knows the needs of the heart and will do what is needed in order to humble that believer, whether they yield themselves or not.  The end goal of God is to transform the believer into the image of Christ.  Trials can have an element of excitement when realizing that God is at work, but because man does not even know his own heart, one's motives may seem good and right in his eyes, and even in the eyes of others, but it is God that knows when a person truely has right motives and looks deep into our hearts to keep us or get us back on the straight and narrow path. Just like the in Jonah's life, the Lord knows when we become complacent the Lord knows exactly what it will take and how heartbreaking of a trial we need to be humbled.  Hebrews 10:31 states:

 "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

         Believers may be able to deceive others, and even themselves, but it is only by God's Word that believers can be assured of the path that they go.

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: 
but the LORD pondereth the hearts." Proverbs 21:2