I Turn the Heart of the King

Proverbs 21:1. “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.”

Are you ever afraid of missing God? I’ve been wrestling lately with the concern that my own issues and limitations will limit God. So along comes this verse to challenge me.

It strikes me as profound that it does not say, “He is able to turn it” once the king submits to the Lord’s authority. This means that where the king is is where the Lord wants him to be. God is doing something important through the very ungodly actions that the king is taking. Kind of blows the mind. And somehow he does not violate the king’s free will. The king is still responsible before God for his life.

But closer to home, I see the need to deepen my understanding and trust that God is the one in charge of everything, meaning my life.

This means that ministry direction, funding, family matters, and plans for next year are all questions He is quite capable of taking care of.

Take plans for next year for example, I have to admit to a fear that I could miss God by my own whatever-ness. Let me ask you directly about this, Lord. What does it mean in this context for you to be able to turn my heart (for I am too called to be a king!) wherever you wish, even though I have free will and can miss your treasure right under me?

“Indeed your heart is in my hands, I have your heart and your entire life in my hand, in my care, for I care for you. I love you, gave my life for you, and so how could I do otherwise than to tend to your heart as a gardener his garden? I love it, spend time in it and tend to it not only because I want to see the result, but because I love the process. It brings me joy to be in that garden and tend to it, just as you love being in the garden of your course: you are tending to it, picking up here and placing there, tending and caring and improving and perfecting constantly. It is your vocation and avocation.”

This is referring to a training course for building up relationships in the Body that I am writing. I have been thinking about it constantly lately,and I even started to wonder if I am getting obsessed with it.

“It is much the same with me. I am in your heart doing that which brings me joy and also accomplishes my purposes for your garden. So I turn it this way and that, turn the soil of your heart, and I turn the waters wherever I wish. It is a work of art and also a thing that produces fruit for me and my kingdom. So how could I but care for you and your future. How can I ignore such important questions as where you are and how you do what you are doing, and the quality of your relationships. It is all a part of the garden of your heart that I am caring for, so I take responsibility for its progress.”

Now that it good news! I don’t think this takes away my responsibility to do what He gives me, but it’s His garden, and there are too many parts to the garden to tend to in the first place for me to try to fix it all, even if I wanted to. So let the Gardener do His job!