A HEART TO KNOW GOD

“I will give them a HEART to KNOW ME, for I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God…” – Jeremiah 24:7a

Heart Transformation involves receiving and cultivating a HEART to KNOW GOD: “I will give them a HEART to KNOW ME, for I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart” (Jer.24:7). God spoke to Jeremiah using the sign of two baskets of figs; one basket had very good figs and the other very bad figs that could not be eaten. The good figs represented the remnant of Judah that had gone into captivity and God will return to their land. He told Jeremiah, “For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up” (v.6). God said further: “I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; …” (v.7a).

Scripturally, figs represent the conduct of a person. Good figs represent a person who obediently follows after the laws of God; while bad figs represent those who reject God’s way and live their own way in sin and rebellion. Essentially, the figs represent the state of the human will or the heart: “A good man, out of the good treasure of the heart, brings forth good things; and an evil man, out of the evil treasure, brings forth evil things” (Lk. 6:45). Israel was at this time in captivity in Babylon due to transgressions, sin, rebellion and idolatry against the Lord their God. Nevertheless, the Lord made a promise to restore them back and give them a brand new start. By means of a new heart that He‘ll put in them they would develop conduct; getting things right with Him.

The Israelites were God’s chosen people, but they had sold their hearts to idols and false gods. They played the “harlot”! They cheated on God by worshiping carved idols that they called gods, turning their backs on the One True God. They broke the covenant they had made with God on Mt. Sinai. Whatever the rebellion or wilful sin that has separated us from God; in Christ, a new heart is being offered. Our everlasting covenant-keeping Father, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in goodness and truth, promises to pardon transgression and the sins of His people by means of a new heart in them (Eze.36:26). This new God-given heart inspires in us the desire to know Him and the privilege of being called His children, who have returned to Him whole-heartedly. God wants us to know His heart; to know that He is the God that keeps His promises – faithful, true, and wise.

God wants our whole heart – not just a part of it! When we don’t give Him our whole heart, we allow other things or people to creep in. We give them a higher place in our lives than God, making them our idol. God gives us a heart that seeks to know Him, not with head-knowledge, but with intimate, heart-knowledge. This new heart affords us the opportunity for genuine fellowship and communion with the Lord our God, having the confidence that He is our God and we are His people; and that we can boldly come to His Throne of Grace, to “obtain Mercy and find Grace to help in time of need” (Heb.4:16). God is faithful and true to His every promise and able and willing to perform them all according to His Will for us in Christ.

Marriage is a lifetime of learning heart-knowledge mutually. We gain intimate knowledge by spending time with the person, studying them, having meaningful conversations by learning their expectations, and understanding what’s important to them. Similarly, God wants us to have a heart-knowledge of Him; hence, He gives us a heart that is always seeking Him. Nothing else can fill up that place in our lives; not alcohol, drugs, pornography, or diverse carnal and worldly pursuits!