Father, grant me a heart that is pure and simple and devoted to you, and I shall be content.
The University of Texas is a sophisticated world. Professors, thinkers, influencers, media. Indeed, the University of Texas is quite proud of its sophistication. But God is not necessarily looking for sophisticated people.
God wants a simple heart in His people. A simple heart trusts God as a child does. It laughs as a child does. It rejoices in simple pleasures and is free. Praise you, God, for the sunrise this morning!
A simple heart is content. It does not require that we get accepted to the school we want or that we get our article published in the right journal. It is happy in God. Praise you, God, for giving us yourself!
A simple heart is focused. It knows that ultimately only one thing matters, and it does not get distracted by a thousand different activities. The schedule may be full, but the heart is still. Praise you, God, for quiet on the inside!
A simple heart sees God. It sees because it is pure, and the pure in heart see God. (Mt 5:8) It is not cluttered but clean. Earth has a way of cluttering our affections, but God has a way of clearing out the clutter. Praise you, God, for making us clean!
Sometimes we are too sophisticated for God. Sometimes we are like the teenage girl who thinks she knows what her parents don’t and consequently never listens. She is too smart to listen. A simple heart is never too smart to listen. It allows us to know God. That is why I have seen three-year-old children who knew more of God than Phd scholars at the University of Texas. We learn God by trusting Him, not by studying subtleties. It really is simple.
