Prepared Heart

“And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.” (2Ch 12:14 AV)

This is the first occurrence of the underlined phrase above.  This phrase is used both negatively and positively.  We read of leaders preparing their heart to seek the LORD, and as above, those who do not.  What grabbed my attention is that one word, ‘prepared’.  When I think of that word, I think of preparing a meal.  There is a lot that goes into preparing a meal.  It has to be planned.  Food items must be purchased.  Then there is the prep work that comes before any heat is added.  There is chopping, searing, stirring, and frying.  There is baking, grilling, and rendering. There is finishing the plate, keeping it warm, and making sure everything comes out at the same time.  There is a lot that goes into preparing ingredients and combining them into a perfect meal.  So, the question I went to my understanding of that word above.  Then I looked up the definition, and it simply means to set.  This would include all the dispositions, attitudes of the mind, and desires of the will be fixed to seek the LORD.  This condition of the heart is a determined will that disciplines the heart to love the LORD above all else.  It is a fixed heart.  It is a heart resolved to seek and love the LORD.  But there is a lot that goes into it.

When one looks at the definition, it is apparent there is much that goes into fixing the heart.  The definition tree goes on and on.  The definition includes processes that result in a firm and fixed heart.  There is, first and foremost, prioritizing seeking the LORD above all other interests or desires of the heart.  God comes first.  This is a discipline.  This is the opposite of the world’s theme of ‘just follow your heart’.  That is poor advice.  To prioritize seeking the LORD is doing just the opposite.  The heart is not to be followed.  The heart is to be confined.  The heart must learn what ‘no’ means.  It must learn it cannot have what it wants.  The heart must be in subjection to the will of its Creator.  The heart must become a servant to the desires of another.  To prepare the heart means to replace the desires of what one cannot have with what the LORD has prepared for it.  In other words, if the heart wants rest and slumber, yet following the LORD means rising and spending time with God, then that is what the heart must do.  In context, Rehoboam fell away from God because he followed in his father’s footsteps.  Rehoboam loved many wives, and it was his love for intimacy that drove him away from God.  He followed his heart.  He did not prepare his heart.

Many foolish choices occur in life because we follow the desires of the heart.  Our emotions go unchecked and we are taught every itch must be scratched.  We are not taught the nobility of self-discipline.  We are discouraged from fixing the heart because it is assumed those who do are Pharisees who stand in judgment of those who fail.  What a pity.  Instead of controlling the desires of the heart, we succumb to them.  Our hearts are not fixed.  They are not firm.  They are not resolved to follow the LORD, no matter the cost.  This is where Solomon and his son, Rehoboam, failed.  Their heart’s desires got the better of them.  They could not say ‘no’.  They could not remain content in what the LORD had prepared for them and instead marched after harmful desires.  They hurt everyone around them.  They placed Judah on a trajectory that eventually led to their captivity.  These two men, father and son, refused to prepare their hearts to seek the LORD and as a result, left a wake of damage behind them.  So, when we are faced with a decision to seek the LORD or please self, LORD willing, we are mature enough to tell the heart to take a hike.  Doing what we must is more Christlike than doing what we want.