THE LORD PONDERS THE HEART
“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.” Proverbs 21:2
What a great truth this is! God deals with our hearts. The element that makes Christianity so powerful is the influence that God has on our hearts and our minds. Other forms of religion may conform to a standard of outward conduct, and yet remain virtually unchanged in their hearts. However, true salvation produces a transformation that is inward, as well as outward. When we are saved, we become new creatures in Christ, and this change begins within. This divine influence of God should continue throughout the duration of our lives.
Our text addresses the importance of letting the Lord show us what He knows is best, rather than what we think is right. This verse tells us, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes.” In other words, we have the tendency to usually think that we are right. We highly value our own opinion. Most of us would agree that we tend to think this way. We feel strongly attached to our personal views. However, it is a dangerous thing to think that we are always right. Just because we agree with ourselves does not mean something is right or best. And just because someone disagrees with us does not mean he is wrong. Our opinion about something may seem perfectly reasonable or just, but may not necessarily be correct. We need to be cautioned about this.
Our verse then tells us, “The LORD pondereth the hearts.” God weighs and directs the hearts. This should be a great comfort to each of us, and a safeguard from getting our own way. Even though we think something is a certain way, God is able to reveal the way that it really is. We must be willing for God to show us what He wants, rather than be determined for what we want. It is common for us to be so convinced and determined that we are right that we cannot seriously hear a differing view.
If we are open to it, God can change our hearts or the way we see things. We should not be afraid to allow God to work in our hearts. The fact that we would resist His work or opinions that differ from ours may be sure evidence that we are not open to seeing what is really best. The worst thing that we can do is to press forward with something just because we so strongly believe in it. We should consider that though we are sincere, we may be sincerely mistaken. Let God ponder the heart.