His Heart and His Mind

Verse of the day: 1 Samuel 2:35, Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.

Here we have a prophesy that was partially fulfilled by Zadok (1 Chronicles 6), but was completely fulfilled by our King and Priest, Jesus Christ, the only One who has ever seen God, and who truly knows the heart and mind of our Heavenly Father (John 1:18). With that said, I would like to bring this down to how we can apply this verse to our lives. I will begin by asking, “What was the Lord looking for in His servant?” He was looking for someone who was faithful, and someone who knew the heart and mind of God. In Christ, we are a priesthood of believers. As a priesthood of believers, we were chosen by God in Christ, and we were set apart for His holy purpose (1 Peter 2:5-9). As servants of God, the Lord desires that we be faithful in our service to Him. His desire is that we come apart from the world, and draw near to Him. 2 Corinthians 6:17 clearly states, “Therefore, ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.’” As God’s servants, we should seek to be faithful and have a desire to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant.” Far too many of us fall into the category of the sons of Eli, King Saul, and Judas. The sons of Eli did not love or seek to know God’s heart and mind, even though they were priests. King Saul tried to mask his rebellious heart with sacrifices, but God responded to him through Samuel in 1 Samuel 15:22, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.” Judas outright betrayed Jesus because of his greed. The bottom line is that God desires that we serve Him faithfully, but in order to do that, we must know what is the heart and mind of God. Where do we find that answer? We find that answer in the Word of God. The Word of God is His inspired Word (2 Timothy 3:16), and we have the Holy Spirit, who knows the heart and mind of God (Romans 8:27). God promised that if we seek Him, we will find Him. Deuteronomy 4:29 promises, “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” If we fail to seek Him and serve Him faithfully, God has no problem replacing us with someone who will faithfully serve Him. When King Saul refused to turn from his rebellion, God chose a man after His own heart, King David. When the sons of Eli refused to repent of their sinfulness, God removed the priesthood from their family and Zadok eventually partially fulfilled the duties of that office, as stated earlier. When Judas betrayed Jesus, and later committed suicide due to his guilt (Matthew 27:3-5), he was replaced by Matthias (Acts 1:20-26). Are we doing all we can to be faithful servants who know the heart and mind of our God and Savior? Are we spending the kind of time in Scripture and prayer that will enable us to know the heart, mind, and will of God? Our God is patient, merciful, and forgiving, but will replace those who continue to rebel and remain unfaithful. He will find someone to replace those who are unfaithful in His service, and who want to be the good and faithful servants He seeks. Will we be one of those servants?

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).