The Bottom Line, Ministries Christian News, Articles, & Poetry 
No matter what you have experienced or the kind of life you lived in the past, God looks at your heart. People may judge you by your outward appearance, which may be a reflection of what you have done, but God can erase your past. If you have really messed up, but call upon God’s grace, Psalm 103:12-13 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far as He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.” Fear here does not mean to be afraid of God, but rather to stand in awe of him.
A big part of Christianity is God taking people who are homeless, hurting, and helpless, and restoring their lives with purpose and meaning. This might be bothersome to some, but I get great delight in meeting people who have had really bad pasts, listening to how they came to know the Lord and seeing their life transformed. I spoke at my local rescue mission’s chapel services for five years, then sat down and ate lunch with the homeless and those who had been addicted to drugs and alcohol. It was one of the best experiences I have ever had in my spiritual journey. Some of those heard the Gospel and accepted Jesus as their Savior. They still looked like someone you might not want to encounter on the street, but inside God had transformed their heart. II Samuel 16:7 says, “The Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
No matter what your life has been like, “The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit”(Psalm 34:18), and God “heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds”(Psalm 147:3). Have you been in the pit of hopelessness, the pit of depression, the pit of destructive addictions, and even the pit of contemplating suicide? God can “draw you up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set your feet upon a rock, making your steps secure. He will put a new song in your mouth, a song of praise to your God”(Psalm 40:2-3).
There may be things on the outside that you cannot change, but if you have a heart for God and truly seek Him, He will change you from the inside out. When I spoke at the mission, I wasn’t afraid of people who looked like their past because I knew God had changed their heart.
God knows our hearts. He knows whether we are living in defiance of Him, or seeking Him. He knows if we are having struggles and addictions but are open to hearing the truth about his love and grace. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Do you have a heart after God? In John 7:38 Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me…out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” God can replace your troubled heart with peace like a flowing river. But first, if you have not already done so, must “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, and you will be saved”( Romans 10:9).
God knows what was in your heart in the past, and He knows if you have a heart for Him now. Do you?
So true! I remember when I was Director at a nursing home, we had an outdoor picnic for the residents. There was one resident who looked “different” and at first- most people were “put off” by his appearance. Once they got to know the individual, people fell in “love with his heart” and that’s all they could see afterwards. Thank the LORD He sees our hearts from the “get go!”
Thanks, John, for this beautiful reminder.
God Bless~
wonderful john