A Broken Heart

Tuesday, March 13th> 2 Chronicles 34: 1-28

What mindset does weeping put us in, and how does it draw God's attention to us? Weeping causes our hearts to be tender towards God and His ways. We know that because of our sinful nature, our thoughts are not God's thoughts, and we are not naturally inclined to follow His ways. But when we see our dreadful state, and cry out for God to help us be conformed to His ways, it does something to God. It softens HIS heart towards us and moves Him to make the change happen without delay. It also moves Him to reward us-- much like that enthusiastic parent who sees that his or her child has the heart to be obedient.

Today's passage describes the heart of Josiah, who became king when he was only eight years old. Imagine such a young person making it his priority to walk before God in a way that his ancestors had failed to do! At sixteen, he began to "seek God" and remove the high places that had been built for other gods. In his seeking and desire to please God, he found the Word which had pretty much been misplaced because the kings before him had given their hearts to idols. When he set his heart to do all that God commanded, God could not resist drawing near to Josiah.

We have the same challenge today. The passion to live for God in our nation has been replaced by the idols of self, money and worldly pleasures -- even in the church. We must begin to seek God again, crying out to Him in humility, repentance and weeping. Then He will turn back to us and heal us, restore us and answer us. Nothing draws God more than a broken and repentant heart.