An Undivided Heart

The scripture jumped off the page.  And my heart literally skipped a beat.

“Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your turn; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise, O LORD my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.”  Psalm 86:11-12


The Psalms are so precious to me as a worship leader. You read the scriptures that you have sung so many times, and your very being still cries out, "Yes, Lord!"  You close your eyes and you know - God is with you!

But this scripture stopped me dead in my tracks. So much of it familiar, but that one phrase.


Teach me your way, O LORD... 

As a seeker by nature, I love to learn. I earnestly seek to know the Lord and am currently in the Proverbs31 Made to Crave online bible study with 43,000 of my closest friends. :-)  Bibles are everywhere in my home. Study bibles. Bibles I have marked all through. The Bible on CD.  "Yes, Lord!" Teach me. I'm in.

and I will walk in your turn...

Since I graduated college, I have been looking for the easy way (scratch that, I was in management). The comfortable way (no wait, maybe I was miserable).   OK I admit it. I was caught up in the "world's way" of what was expected for my life... Making a nice living, having nice things, being in control of my own destiny.  

Until New Years' Day. I knew. As sure as the sun rose that morning. I had to make a major change to follow my inmost desire to become a teacher. Whatever it took. And God made a way. Walking in His plan. Yes, Lord! I'm in!


give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name

There it is. Undivided.  Not led off in many directions. Or caught up in the new thing.  Constant.  Steady.  Unwavering.  Consistent.  With all focus on Him.  

I don't know about you, but I LOVE to start projects.  I get so excited about the prospect.  Planning, buying, planning some more.  All the details.  It's the follow through once the project gets underway that can snag me, especially in home projects. I love to tackle things I've never tried. 

Like a rolling, upholstered desk chair for my son when he was about 7 or 8.  He's 18 now, and the back of that chair just never quite made it on. I got frustrated and didn't know how to attach it, so I QUIT. I moved on to the next thing. My attention was divided.

Or the fact that I am always doing more than one thing at a time.  It frustrates my husband to death!  I can hardly have a conversation with him without continuing to pick things up off the floor, or fold the clothes, or even (gulp) continue to read...

God wants every part of us, every day. Our undivided attention. Our undivided hearts.  We can't long for something more than Him. We can't keep on doing what we were doing in the world, without making a change, and be able to see Him fully. To be able to see His will for our lives.

We are naturally distracted. So, it takes intentional effort. 

And... He is God. Period. He is telling us to turn our eyes to Him, that we may fear Him.
Psalm 111:10 says: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise."

I will praise, O LORD my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.

We were made to worship Him, and Him alone. With an undivided heart.  Forever and ever.  It is vital for me to have quiet time with the Lord in prayer and study every day so that my outward expression can be thanksgiving and praise. This comes out in the form of worship through music. 

But I still get distracted by the world. It teases and beckons, and just downright gets in the way.  When I don't take time with the Lord, I am more likely to stumble and keep my eyes off Him.  


Won't you join with me in making a commitment to seek God above all things?  To have that undivided heart to know Him more. So that we can press on to continue to grow and change, so others would see our outward praise of the Father. 

Maybe they will decide, "Yes, Lord!"