What’s in Our Hearts?

This post is a bit of a follow-up to my post on Saturday – God Wants Our Hearts, Not Our Performance. In that post we looked at some verses in the book of Micah, and reflected on how we might try to appease God with our actions. But ultimately God wants our hearts.

A few days after reading in Micah, I was reading in Haggai. Haggai is only two chapters long. Therefore, if you would like to read through, you can read chapter 1 here and chapter 2 here.

In this book of the Bible the people are reprimanded for not continuing the rebuild of the temple, as work had stalled for over sixteen years after their return from Babylon. The people were more concerned about their own homes, and neglected the temple.

As we discussed the other day, God is more interested in our hearts than our performance. However, in this book of the Bible we see that our actions will reveal what’s in our hearts. The Israelites found excuses to avoid the task at hand, while putting God and His work on the back burner.

In Haggai 1 we read:

⁵ Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. ⁶ You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages,only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” ⁷ This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.”

Twice here the Lord Almighty says, “Give careful thought to your ways.” This is a great reminder for us all. Let us give careful thought to our words, our actions, and what’s in our hearts.

“For us all, as truly as for those Jews, the first thing, the primary, all-embracing duty, is to serve God, to obey, love, and live with Him.” [1]

And sandwiched in between the two commands to “give careful thought to your ways,” we read words that imply the Israelites had not seen the fruit of their labor. This is an impactful reminder that our obedience always brings blessing.

When we walk outside of God’s will for our lives, what we acquire won’t last. As it says in Psalm 127:1, “Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.”

The lack of fruit in the Israelites lives also made me consider unanswered prayers. At times our prayers could go unanswered if we continue to hold sin in our hearts and lives. It says in Proverbs 28:9, “If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable.”

“God does not listen to our prayers if we intend to go back to our sin as soon as we get off our knees. When we forsake our sin and follow him, he willingly listens—no matter how bad our sin has been. What closes his ears is not the depth of our sin but our secret intention to do it again. God hears our intentions as clearly as he hears our words.” [2]

Our relationship with God is all about the heart. When we walk closely with the Lord, He transforms us and helps our hearts align with truth. If we allow God’s voice to be the loudest in our lives, He will guide us along the right paths for His name’s sake (Ps 23:3). Our Good Shepherd will guide us down the right path. He will help us to see when we need to correct something. And He will continually transform us day by day.

Thank you for reading. God bless!

© 2018-2026 Bridget A. Thomas. All rights reserved.

[1] – Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/maclaren/haggai/1.htm.

[2] – Life Application Study Bible. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale, 2007.

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