Have a Heart, Please…
One of my pet peeves is when people say, “I don’t have a heart for that.” They say this as if when they were born they knew exactly what they had a heart for and what they didn’t and that their hearts are unable to change. It’s a statement that reflects a belief that God’s love is limited in their lives.
Early in college I would have said I “had no heart” for Asia or for missionary work. My first time out of the country wasn’t until I was 20 and that first experience wasn’t a very positive one for me. I figured I was meant for America. As I grew with God in college though I discovered I had a heart for Asia. I thought it was for China. I also felt I had a heart for college age people. I would have been quick to say that I “had no heart” for kids or for Korea. I also would have been quick to say that I “had no heart” for pastoring a church or for preaching. Little did I know of what God had planned for me.
God sent me to Korea at the end of 2005 to serve and live in a children’s home with 88 kids of all ages. Even as I was on the plane I knew I “didn’t have a heart” for kids or for Korea. The truth was I just didn’t have a ton of experience with kids and so I didn’t feel that confident with them. I also hadn’t invested much prayer in Korea. Within just one year of being in Korea though I discovered that I did have a heart for both kids and for Korea. As I served the kids and spent time with them I found my heart going out to them and felt confidence growing within me as I interacted with them. And as I lived in Korea and prayed for the nation I felt God’s heart grow within me more and more for this land. Also, in 2010 I was asked to pastor a church plant in Seoul. I began preaching more often while overseeing the church plant. This was all God. While I don’t feel I am called to serve long term as a pastor, God has clearly given me more of a heart for the service.
1John 4:19 says, “We love because He first loved us.” Love comes from God. “A heart” comes from Him as well. I don’t think Joseph was ever dreaming as a youth about living and serving in Egypt. I don’t think Daniel was ever dreaming as a youth about living and serving in Babylon. I don’t think Esther ever said to her cousin Mordecai in her youth, “I have a heart for reaching out to the king of Persia.”
To say that you know exactly what you have a heart for and what you don’t have a heart for is to say you have greater wisdom than Joseph and Daniel. It is God who gives us the heart for something. It isn’t a matter of getting the heart first before going, either. Both Joseph and Daniel were taken to the foreign countries against their will. They clearly didn’t have a heart for their respective countries when they first arrived. God sends us. We obey. And as we walk with Him in obedience He then meets all our needs, including giving us His unfailing love for the people we are called to serve. All we have to do is abide in Him and ask for His heart and His strength and He will give us more than enough. Then we will find true joy as we serve Him.
So please don’t ever say, “I don’t have a heart for that.” Instead put your faith in God and ask Him for the heart. He will provide. His love never fails!
