For Those Whose Heart Is Loyal To Him

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to him." 2 Chronicles 16:9 Many believers are glad to take Christ's salvation happily and then just go on with their lives. And that is permissible because salvation is the totally free gift God has given to all who will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. But if we are under pressure to perform then it's no longer free, so God will allow a believer to be saved without putting any added burden upon him. And that's how it is with many, if not most. But he bids us come closer. Jesus had multitudes following him, but he had only twelve walking with him. And among those twelve, there were only three in his inner circle, Peter, James, and John. You can be as close to Jesus as you want to be or ...you can just say “thank you Jesus” and go your way. But oh the wonders, the adventure, the challenge, the joys, the glory of walking through life in intimacy with the Lord. It's fraught with risk and danger, and sometimes it's an overwhelming challenge, but for those who have walked with him, they wouldn't even think of having it any other way. To experience the incomparable joy of hearing his voice and following his lead - there's just nothing like it in all the world. The world has nothing even close to comparing it with. There is no way to describe the effect of his presence in those times when he personally comes and makes his presence known to us. Imagine, the King of the universe, the Creator of all that is, Almighty God himself ...comes into one's living room or bedroom or prayer place and graces the believer with the awareness of his presence ...how on earth could there be anything more wonderful than that! Yes, there is a battle, a never-ending warfare waged against us by an enemy bent on destroying us, and it will strain to the end even the strongest believer and bring him to his knees. Yes, there is loss and disappointment and affliction and pain, this is common to believer and unbeliever alike as we live in this world. But the believer is NEVER ALONE to walk through these things. The believer will find that those are the times when the Lord seems so close, when we feel the constant encouragement of his hand on our backs and his arm around our shoulder. He says, "it's ok, it's only temporary. Just endure for now." And then he gives the believer a huge hug, and it is so glorious that the pain is endurable and even accompanied with joy. How could it be any other way? To be touched by the Lord of Glory, it can only be joy. But not all will experience this. Those who go their merry way and ignore him for the most part, maybe going to church on Sunday and thinking that's all they need to do - they will miss the depths of this intimate walk and they will never know him as one who is willing to come this close to him. The Lord "shows himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to him." Just going to church on Sunday falls sadly short of loyalty. No, loyalty is borne out in the intimate walk, as the powers of hell assail and fears and doubts threaten to consume and overwhelm. When a believer remains faithful in all circumstances no matter what, this is the one whose heart is loyal and this is the one who will experience the Lord showing himself strong. It's reminiscent of the parable of the man who finds a treasure in a field, "and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field," (Matthew 13:44). He will do anything to have that treasure. Friends, there is a far greater treasure here. If you only knew how great a treasure it is, you would do anything you had to in order to possess it. Jesus Christ is that great treasure in the field waiting to be found. The reward of finding him and walking with him is eternal. And ...it is available for anyone who wants it.