ABOUT THIS EPISODE
I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you (1 Chronicles 29:17).
David is making provision for the building of the temple. The people have given generously, and David praises God because everything they have given came from God in the first place. Yet David knows that God is concerned with more than the gift. God is concerned with the heart of the giver.
That is why David says, "I know, my God, that you test the heart."
People see what we do. Sometimes, they see what we give. They hear what we say. But God sees deeper. He sees the motives behind our actions. He knows whether our generosity comes from gratitude or from the desire to be noticed. He knows whether our service comes from love or from a desire for recognition. He knows the thoughts and intentions that no one else can see.
This verse is not meant to make us anxious about whether our hearts are good enough. David's confidence rests in knowing God himself. The God who examines the heart is also the God who gives grace to the heart. And this grace "teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives" today (Titus 2:12).
There is something wonderfully liberating here. We do not need to impress God or impress other people. We can simply seek to serve him with "an honest intent," giving ourselves and what we have received from him back to him.
And notice David's delight: "you are pleased with integrity." God delights when his people respond to his grace with sincerity, gratitude, and wholehearted devotion. Our gifts may seem small; our service may seem ordinary. But when they are offered to God with a sincere heart, they are precious in his sight.
David and the Israelites gave generously, indicating that God had blessed his people with wealth. Many saints have observed that prosperity poses greater threats to our integrity than hardship. These tests are more subtle. Wealth lulls us into spiritual drowsiness, causing us to lose sensitivity to sin. We give in to selfishness bit by bit. We fall into a satisfaction and confidence in life that is based on our prosperity rather than on God.
If we are to remain faithful to our Lord, we must remain steadfast in obedience and humility before God. Prosperity can be a great test. Ask the Lord to give us the grace to be faithful in it.
As you journey on, go with his blessing:
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May your day end with rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you. May you rest in his provision as he brings night, and then new dawn.
