HEARTS IN THE HAND OF THE LORD

“The KING’s HEART is in the HAND of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes” – Proverbs 21:1

Having invested eight months meditating on HEARTS, it’s time to link these with HANDS, starting with the HAND of the LORD: “The KING’s HEART is in the HAND of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes” (Pro.21:1). In this Year of Hearts, Hands and the Blessed Life, God will shepherd us victoriously by means of His Heart and Hand, and our hearts and hands. In ancient times, the kings of nations were like gods. None could call them to account. If they chose war the nation gave up its men. If they imposed taxes, people paid. Yet, the heart of the king, and all that is in it – his thoughts, counsels, purposes, and designs, are in the HAND of the LORD: The hearts of evil kings, like Pharaoh, which the Lord hardened and softened at His pleasure, and good kings, like David, Jehoshaphat, and Cyrus!

The heart of every king can be turned by the Hand of the Lord as easily as the course of a river. If the hearts of kings which are full of things of the greatest importance with respect to the government of the world, are in the Hand of the Lord, then much more the hearts of all human beings. Kings – especially despotic kings – are known to be naturally more resolute in their minds and rigid in their deportments, often having their own wills and ways; yet their hearts are fluid and flexible in God’s Hand. He can hold, fix, control, drive, and direct them. He can keep them steady and within bounds. God’s Hand can direct the bounty and kindness in the heart of a good king, full of wisdom and prudence, integrity and faithfulness, to flow among his subjects, to their great pleasure and profit.

When God chooses to bless a country, he gives it a good, strong, wise king or reliable leader. When he judges a land, He says, “I will make boys their leaders, and toddlers their rulers” (Isa.3:4, NLT). However, God’s Hand – Authority and Power – goes further than giving a good or bad ruler. He can turn a king’s heart in whatever direction He wills. Solomon used an illustration from ancient irrigation methods, where farmers opened or closed gates leading to irrigation channels, sending water this way or that. As easily as a gate could be opened to allow water, or closed, so God holds the king’s heart in His Hand, to turn it right or left. God’s people, even with rulers as wicked as Caesar Nero, should never despair, but rather pray. God used the image of a king whose calling is crucial, to depict that all hearts are in His Hand!

Apart from showing the sovereignty of God as One who can do with someone whatever He pleases, Proverbs 21:1 specifically presents the kind of heart that pleases God – one that’s pliable in His Hand. There are many offices a person might fulfil as a king – father of a household, director of a business, manager of a department, coach of a team, pastor of a church, or president of a nation; but the heart required is the same – a heart of one that’s so yielded and completely surrendered, that it is easily moved by the Spirit of God to His purposes!   

The Hand of the Lord can transform hearts – understanding, will, and affections – as He pleases. He that made the heart can operate upon it, and do with it as seems good in His sight. He can turn one’s understanding from darkness to light; take off the stiffness of the will, turn it from its bias and bent, and make it willing to do that which is good in the Day of His Power (Psa.110:3). He can turn the course of one’s affections and desires from sinful lusts and pleasures, to Himself, His Son, His Truth, Word, Way, and Worship. He can take out of the heart what He abhors – bitterness, enmity, hardness, ignorance, pride, unbelief, and vanity; and put in His fear, His Spirit, gifts and graces.