FAITH CAPSULE: Daniel’s purpose in the heart set him for great exploits in life.

Daniel 1

Here are some scriptural verses of what the bible has to say about the heart:
Psalm 44:21, “…God knows the secret of the heart.”
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
“The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart.” (Proverbs 20:27)
Ecclesiastes 8:11 stated, “Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”
The bible identifies the fool, in Psalm 14:1, “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God…”

What is it about your heart?
The bible recorded, “As in water face reflects face, so a man’s heart reveals the man.”(Proverbs 27:19) It was heart that revealed Nehemiah to God as God’s eye travels. (2 Chronicle 16:9)

One thing was clear about Nehemiah: he had the concern for Jerusalem’s welfare and its inhabitants at heart. Nehemiah, a cup bearer with big heart desired a better life for his brethren. If a cup bearer could provoke great change, all of us that are having life should be able to do the same. God saw Nehemiah’s heart and He acknowledged him. God in His awesomeness invested in him as a vessel for reconstructing the broken wall of Jerusalem. The report of what was going on in Jerusalem caused a burden in Nehemiah’s heart and he began to intercede on behalf of the land and his people. The bible recorded in Nehemiah 1:3-4, “And they said to me, ‘The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.’ So it was, when I heard these words that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” Nehemiah poured out his heart in prayer on behalf of his people and his homeland. He asked for nothing that had to do with himself, but rather petitioned for things that had to do with a better life for his people. God is a God whose eyes are always traveling to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong. (2 Chronicle 16:9) Nehemiah’s heart was in line with what God was looking for. Is your heart self-centered?
Bible recorded about Daniel in Daniel 1:8, “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” He was able to purpose in his heart for God’s sake and he lived to do great exploit (Daniel 11:32) because of his heart activity. Daniel’s heart set him for great exploits in life.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to set your heart right before God all the days of your life.