Jump Start # 722

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

This is a great verse to remember. Sometimes we feel as if we are helpless and cannot do anything. We are just a lowly citizen who does not have armies at our disposal nor the power to make laws. The king does. The king, as history has shown, can be harsh, cruel and violent. But we have one thing that is greater than the king, we have God. A God that can do things.

The passage is am image of a person who puts their hands in a creek. As it flows over the hands, the person can move the water. This illustration is showing what God can do to the heart of the king. God can move it. The king may not even realize that God is over him and moving him, but God does.

There is no power greater than God. There is nothing that God cannot do.

This verse reminds us that we need to be praying. Praying that God moves the hearts of those in authority is something that we ought to do on a regular business. The laws that the kings make impact God’s people. They can make life and worship easy or difficult. History has shown different rules that have outlawed the worship of God. They made following God very hard. Persecution of God’s people often were a part of those wicked kings.

God is upon the throne. He always has been. Even when Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, God was upon the throne. Even when Herod ordered the murder of baby boys, God was upon the throne. Even when God’s apostles were struck down, God was upon the throne. Death doesn’t stop the will nor plans of God. Sometimes hard times and dark days are used to teach lessons and to build character.

God turns the king’s heart. Do you think that God can turn your heart? You and I are not kings. We don’t make laws. We don’t order troops into battle. Our hearts are not as important as the king’s heart. Yet in many, many ways, it is. It is to God. The book of Acts tells us that God opened the heart of Lydia, a simple business woman who heard the gospel.

God can turn hearts, especially those that are good and honest. The gospel can mold us and make us into what God wants.

Is there someone who is difficult in your life? Have you prayed about that person? Have you asked God to work upon that heart? Instead of wishing we could avoid that person or that they would drop off the face of the earth, changing their heart is the best thing that could happen.

Channels of water and a heart in God’s hands…how about your heart? Do you fight God or allow Him to turn it and shape it? It’s easy to want God to change others, but how about our hearts? That’s a great place to start.

Roger