Willing

What do you think of when you hear the word “willing?” I think, as with most words, it’s easy to come up with a meaning of a word in our minds without really pondering or taking to heart what the significance or application would be.

The other morning I was telling my wonderful hubs about something I noticed in my morning reading. He said, “I think that sounds like a blog post.” To which I replied, “No, I’m not ready. I need to process it more.” (translate “I’m not willing yet…”)

But since I sometimes process through writing… will you take this journey with me?

I was reading through I Chronicles. Truth be told, there’s an awful lot of lists, name groups, etc… and I tend to plow through. But hidden in these lists, there are several amazing nuggets that are worth deep pondering.

In I Chronicles 28:9, King David is giving a charge to his son, Solomon, as David hands over the kingship to Solomon.

“Know the God of your father and serve Him with a whole heart and with a willing mind…”

Ok.

Whole heart.
Willing mind.

Of course I had to do some digging.

Here’s a breakdown of the verse from the Hebrew:

יָדַע  (Know) – this word for “know” is a personal one – know by experience, know by time and energy spent, know deep in your spirit. (vs. to know about something/someone) (for example, to know my family vs. know about a movie star)

אָבַד  (Serve) – work, serve, labor

שָׁלֵם  (Whole) – complete, perfect, whole, all, (at peace)

לֵב  (Heart) – inner person, mind, will, heart, understanding, soul, thinking, conscience, passion, knowledge

חָפֵץ (Willing) – desiring, delighting, having pleasure in

נֶפֶשׁ (Mind) – soul, self, life, mind, desire, emotion, passion, appetite, will

But then I noticed that the word “willing” appears twice more in the same chapter, but with different Hebrew words:

נָדִיב (Willing) – inclined, willing, noble, generous

נָדַב (Willing) – to impel, incite, make willing, to volunteer and offer free-will

I know that repetition means emphasis.

So – why is this so important? And why is it so difficult to process for me?
Maybe because after more than a year of a pandemic I’m feeling depleted.
Maybe because it’s hard to be willing when there are many unknowns.
Why is my heart having trouble with this one?

How is your heart with this?

It’s difficult to be generous when you’re just trying to stay afloat.

But what would it mean if we could all serve God with a whole heart and willing mind? (Wouldn’t that be an amazing world??)

In I Chronicles 29, the word “willing” appears three more times, and also “whole heart.”

And then… (in verse 22) the people had “great gladness.”

I want “great gladness.” Don’t you?

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that “great gladness” follows serving God with your “whole heart” and a “willing mind.”

I think I want to be willing, and I serve Him with pieces of my heart. I also think I hold back pieces of my heart out of insecurity or fear. Maybe even just subconsciously.

How is your heart? When was the last time you did something with your whole, entire heart? Let’s look at the definition of heart again: “inner person, mind, will, heart, understanding, soul, thinking, conscience, passion, knowledge.”

It’s really a word for ALL OF ME. The WHOLE person. Everything I am.

Everything you are.

And about this word, “willing…” Why is it used in these passages so many times? Why several different Hebrew words for the same idea? Maybe because it’s so important.

Sometimes we just cannot conjure up a willing mind on our own. We are just too pooped. But… maybe we can be willing to be willing…

Maybe in our baby steps we ask God to help us be more willing.
We give Him a few more pieces of our heart.
We ask Him to continue to guide us on this journey in the crazy world around us, and ask Him to gently hold our hearts and minds as we seek to grow closer to Him.

After all, He knows us.
And He loves us.
And His love brings great gladness.