Psalms 19 – Seeking God with All Your Heart

When your life turns upside down and you feel completely broken, seeking God with all your heart is often the last thing you want to do. At least, I should say, that is how it has been for me in some of my darkest places. The enemy is quick to use these terrible moments to speak lies into the vulnerable places of our hearts and minds to convince us we “can’t” seek Him. He tells us we’re too broken, too undesirable, too sinful.

He knows the best way to keep us broken is to keep us as far away from God as he can. We can choose to give in – to run, or hide, or make excuses. Or, we can choose to shut out the voice of the enemy and fight those lies with the Truth of Scripture. Psalms 19 is just one chapter of the many passages in the Bible that remind us of the awesome nature of our faithful God.

You see, the good news about this incredible God who is so worthy of our praise and devotion is that He will pursue us, even when we are choosing to listen to the voice of the enemy. He will continue to call for as long as it takes to convince us to come out of hiding and seek Him again. When we finally do, what healing there is in His glorious presence! Why do we wait so long to accept that healing?

So let’s look together at Psalms 19. As we dissect this passage, may it break down the walls in your heart (and mine) and convince you to come running back into His open arms and once again seek God with all your heart!  

Psalms 19

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known.
They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. 

God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end.
Nothing can hide from its heat. 

The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.
Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever.
The laws of the Lord are true, each one is fair. 

They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.
They are a warning to Your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
Keep Your servant from deliberate sins!
Don’t let them control me.
Then I will be free of guilt, and innocent of great sin.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart
be pleasing to You, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.   

Seeking God with All Your Heart by Looking to the Sky 

I hope I never forget the darkness of those days deep in the pit of betrayal trauma. It was a terrible, miserable time. But even then, God was there. Even when I was refusing to see His hand in my own life, I remember looking at the sky and knowing I couldn’t deny who He was forever. It was plainly displayed. Just as Psalms 19 so perfectly states it, the heavens did proclaim the glory of God and I simply couldn’t look at it and pretend He was anything less than Himself.

Psalms 19:1-4 – The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known.
They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. 

I tell you, I have never seen more frequent occurrences of breath-taking sunrises and especially sunsets than during those months! It was crazy. Almost every single day for months! Also, some of the most amazing rainbows and storm cloud formations I’ve ever seen! You can tell me God didn’t do that just for me, but I’ll never believe you. He wanted my heart, and He was going to pursue it with everything He had.

Psalms 19:5-6 – God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end.
Nothing can hide from its heat. 

Oh, I wanted to hide! I wanted to deny that God was who He says He is, but how could it last? How could I look at the course of creation – the rising and setting of the sun, the way the seasons come in their time again and again without wavering, and not see the design of my Lord? It is undeniable. And if He has designed all of that, if He holds it in place and keeps it moving forward according to His plan, then isn’t He also sovereign over the course of my life? 

Can you relate? Do you find yourself questioning God? Is it hard for you to believe that He is pursuing you? That He loves you? That His plans for you are good? Let me ask you a question. Are you seeking God with all your heart or running from Him? Are you listening to His Word, or are you listening to the lies the enemy has so carefully whispered into your ear?

Do you need a perspective shift? I challenge you to start by looking to the sky. Begin with one simple step toward Him. Pray right now and ask Him to show you something of Himself in the sky today. Then, watch expectantly for what He’ll reveal and accept His love and faithfulness when it is lavished upon you.

Using the Word of God to Seek God with All Your Heart

Recognizing the reality of God (His goodness, His power, and His sovereignty) through the sky is a good first step. But there is nothing like the Word of God to reveal truth to our weary and broken hearts! It is the only tangible perfection we have access to on this earth. We can hold it and see it. We can read its words and speak its truths aloud. It will revive the deep places long dead. It will restore hope. It will enable healing. But we must first allow it in. 

Psalms 19:7-9 – The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.
Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever.
The laws of the Lord are true, each one is fair. 

Sisters, in a world in which we don’t know what to believe, the Bible is wholly trustworthy! When lies have become our world, we need its truth! It offers the wisdom we need to navigate the treacherous path forward. It is a clear source of insight in our deepest despair, a bright and steady light in our darkness. It holds all the answers we’ll ever need. It is right, and fair, and pure. It is true, and eternal!  

Psalms 19:10-11 – They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.
They are a warning to Your servant, a great reward for those who obey them. 

God has proven to me the absolute truth in this: The Word of God is more desirable than any treasure this world has to offer. More satisfying than any delicacy available. It is through the words of its life-giving message that I found healing. He has offered the same to you. Are you utilizing it?

You have the most valuable possession in the world right at your fingertips! Are you reading it? If someone gave you an endless supply of the sweetest, most decadent dessert on the planet, and then told you that one slice each day would cure every physical ailment in your body, would you put it untouched on a shelf? Would you claim you didn’t have time to eat it? I doubt it. So do we really believe the Bible is what God says it is?  

My friends, if you’ve accepted my first challenge, would you humor me, and accept another? If you pray and ask God to show you Himself through the sky, then when He answers, will you do this next? Will you pick up your Bible and start to read it for just a few minutes every day? (If you need a place to start, try using the Hope For Today Bible study that is available through this website. It will take you about 5 minutes to read it each day.)

I believe with everything in me that it will change your life and make seeking God with all your heart the most important thing in the world to you. 

Seeking God by Looking into Your Heart – A Prayer of Surrender 

Psalms 19:12-13 – How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
Keep Your servant from deliberate sins!
Don’t let them control me.
Then I will be free of guilt, and innocent of great sin. 

This is what it all boils down to: We will never be able to recognize the lies if we aren’t exposing ourselves to the truth! We’ll believe that God isn’t pursuing us, because we’re not pursuing Him. We’ll believe that God is not good, because the enemy is not good, and we’ll be led to believe that the work of the enemy is the work of God. We’ll believe that all the terrible, twisted things we’re believing are right and good, when they are the result of the hidden sins lurking in our own hearts! Ouch. 

My friends, there was no day more freeing than the day I realized exactly that: God WAS good – I was not. Everything that had been pulling me deeper and deeper into the pit of despair was a byproduct of the sins lurking in my own heart! And God was standing right there, the whole time, offering me a life-line out of that miserable place! What a glorious moment to finally grab on to that rope and find myself anchored to the sure and steady Rock of my Lord Jesus Christ! What a joy to have my hope restored and be set free from the control of all those lies. 

Since that day, I have prayed again and again the words in the verse below. It has become the cry of my heart! As I fill my mind with the truth of His Word, may He faithfully refine the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart so that everything I say and do – everything I BELIEVE is pleasing to Him. For He is my Lord. My Rock. My Redeemer. And I love Him with all that I am! 

How about you? Have you been running from God? Will you take the challenges I’ve given here? Will you use the last three verses of Psalms 19 as a daily prayer and dedicate yourself to seeking God with all your heart once again? Oh friend, you will never regret it if you do!