A Heart United

When Christians think of unity in the context of church, it is natural for us to assume this means unity among people.  That is an aspect of unity, but that is not where unity begins.  As each person in the church is made part of Christ's body, we first must be united with Him in faith.  When a person repents and is born again, the Holy Spirit unites us with God by dwelling within us.  Yet placing our faith in Christ does not mean we are wholly united with Him.  Our minds may be in agreement with the truth of His Word, but that does not ensure we are walking in light of that truth.  We can be in two minds over something, and our own hearts can be divided.  If our hearts are divided within us, uniting perfectly with others will prove impossible.

This fact hit me as I read Psalm 86:11-12:  "Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. ¹² I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore."  The psalmist asked God to "unite his heart to fear God's name."  This illuminates the fact our hearts are not always united within us.  Even as our beliefs and actions do not always agree, our hearts can be strangely segmented and stand at odds with each another.  After David asked God to teach him His ways, having firmly decided he would obey, David asked God to unite his heart to fear God's name.  Verse 12 combined the answer and result:  David praised the LORD his God with all his heart.  No man can know his own heart, but God does.  In faith our hearts are united to praise God and glorify Him forever.

Is your heart united in the fear of the LORD?  Praise Him with all your heart, for only God can make us whole, united, and join us in sweet fellowship and victory with others.