Mensa Otabil - The Willing Heart
- Watch
- Donate
Today we’re talking about the willing heart, a heart that is yielded and willing to the Lord. Exodus chapter 35, verse 21: «Then everyone came whose heart was stirred and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service and for the holy garments.» God wants our hearts to be stirred for Him and to be willing to fulfill His purposes. He desires our hearts to respond to His leading and guidance, and today’s passage describes the attitude of Israel when God made a call for them to build the tabernacle in the wilderness. It was a magnificent sight to see all these people whom the Bible says had been stirred and were willing to give the best they had for the house of the Lord to be built.
The remarkable thing about the actions of these people was that they had gone through tough times. Not many months prior to this event, they were all slaves. They had worked so hard and had not been compensated, most of them receiving nothing. Their fathers worked hard and were not paid, and their grandfathers did the same. So, this is a generation of oppressed people who for centuries had been deprived and denied. They had seen hardship, and then God came to deliver them. On the night of their deliverance, God gave them favor, and the Egyptians, who were the oppressors, gave them gold, silver, and all kinds of precious items.
For the first time in their lives, they owned possessions; they owned gold and silver. They had something to brag about, something to share, something to be excited about. For the first time in over 400 years, a generation arose that inherited some property. Then they entered the wilderness, and God said, «I’m going to build a temple where you can worship, and I want you to bring your gold and your silver, which will be used for my tabernacle.» You can imagine how they felt. For a people who had suffered so much, what they had was significant, and God asked for it.
That’s the remarkable aspect of them. Instead of being selfish, the Bible says their hearts were stirred because they considered that if this was for the God who delivered them, the God who redeemed them, the God who set them free, then nothing was too much for Him. After all, they didn’t have it, and He helped them to acquire it. When people acknowledge that everything they have belongs to God—their wisdom, their ability, their knowledge, their money—they can appreciate that He facilitated their acquisition of it. Their hearts will also be stirred, and the Bible notes that instead of holding on to what they had for self-preservation, they gave willingly. In fact, they gave so much that they had to be stopped from giving any further.
A willing heart is one that is submitted to God’s sovereignty, a heart that sees God as the overall boss and is ready to submit to Him. A willing heart is one that says yes to the Lord, to the will of the Lord, and to the purposes of God. A willing heart is stirred by the presence of God and by the things of God. A willing heart rejoices in pleasing the Lord. May the Lord give you a willing heart, and the scripture promises that if you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land. For us to enjoy all of God’s goodness, we must have a willing heart.
Let’s pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, thank you for all that you have given me. Let your Spirit move my heart towards You. In Jesus' name, Amen and Amen.» May the Lord bless each one of us with a willing heart. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.