Strive for wholehearted devotion to God

The Bible says, “Amaziah…did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly” (vv. 1-2 NIV). Contrast that with what God said about David: “I have found David…a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do” (Acts 13:22 NIV). This can be a little bewildering because when you read about David’s life, you find chapters of adultery, murder, and coverup. He was a disaster as a husband and inferior as a dad. But his heart was devoted to God. How do we know? Because when he made mistakes and sins, he repented and desired to get right with God again. When David guided the return of the ark of the covenant to Israel, he danced before the Lord “with all his might” (2 Samuel 6:14). He put his whole self into it. If you wonder how that dance looked, the text reveals it involved King David “leaping and dancing before the Lord” (v. 16). The heart, in early history, was the core of a person. It meant not only feelings, as we many times think of the heart, but the centre of a person’s being, especially the will. So wholehearted devotion to God reveals what you choose to embrace with all your energies. Amaziah lived twenty-nine years of his life finessing his commitment to God. He did what was right, but his heart was elsewhere. David, in spite of his flaws, pursued God with all his heart. So the word for you today is – strive for wholehearted devotion to God.