Today is the first day of the season of Lent in 2022. While this season is not observed by all denominations–including mine–I like to observe it because it gives me a time for focus and preparation leading up to Easter when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A good starting point for this time of preparation is to meditate on God and his character, his heart.

In this case, the heart is more than the organ that pumps blood. Biblically, the heart is our soul; it is “basket” term for our mind, our will, our emotions, and our conscience. When we say, “I know her heart”, this is what we are referring to—the mind, will, emotions, and conscience. So, how can we learn about God’s heart? A good way is to read the Psalms, especially those written by David. We know that God considered David to be “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). When we read David’s Psalms, we learn about David’s heart; and therefore, we learn about God’s heart.

Here is one of my favorites: Psalm 103. We can learn so much about the character and heart of God from meditating on this Psalm of David.

¹ Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
⁸ The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹ He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
¹⁵ The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field;
¹⁶ the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,  and his righteousness with their children’s children—
¹⁸ with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

¹⁹ The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

²⁰ Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
²¹ Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
²² Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, my soul.

In Christ,

Judy