The Heart Unseen: Revealed, Revived, Restored (1 Samuel 25:2-42)

By Toni S. Troxell

When you look at a résumé, each one has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Some are longer than average, others are shorter. The question is this: When God reads your résumé of life, what will it say? (And He will read it.)

While all of us suffer disappointments, heartaches, and betrayals, we must strive to use those experiences to create a better picture – a brighter image. With each experience, we must reflect on where we were and where we are headed. In this guide to writing a résumé that will please God, the author draws on examples from the the Old Testament story found in 1 Samuel 25 so you can serve God better, respond to God’s spirit as He leads, trust in the Lord, and resist Satan. She reminds everyone that we are writing a résumé for God and not for each other. One day, we will stand before Him as He reads – and no matter what you’ve done up to this point, it’s never too late to make the rest of your pages a beautiful portrait of a life well lived.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973678960

Toni S. Troxell

Toni S. Troxell earned a Master of Arts degree in religion with a minor in counseling from Liberty University. She has devoted her life to the study and application of God’s Word. Her husband and family share her passion for the truth found in God’s Word. Her many years of experience in retail has given her many opportunities to share and apply the principles found in God’s Word in daily life. She hopes this book will help others walk with Christ and to stand ready when facing the enemy.

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 Toni S. Troxell.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-7897-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-7898-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-7896-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019917827

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/5/2019

Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

Chapter 1 Building a Résumé (Who Are You?)

Chapter 2 When Opportunity Comes

Chapter 3 I Got This!

Chapter 4 Prerogative

Chapter 5 A Focused Heart

Chapter 6 The Heart Unseen

Chapter 7 Listen … Listen … Listen

Chapter 8 The Sovereignty of God

Chapter 9 Don’t Give Satan Room

Conclusion

Study Guide

The Plan of Salvation through Jesus Christ Our Lord

Bibliography

To my son, Charlie

God gave you to me, and I am humbled every day at the wonderful servant of God you are. God allows us to have special people in our lives, and He gave you into mine. Serve Him well, my son, as you have continued to do. And to God be all the glory!

Acknowledgments

What a privilege God gives us to study His Word and, on top of that, to apply His written Word to our lives. All the glory and praise go to my heavenly Father who gave His only Son for our sins, the Lord Jesus Christ, and allows His Holy Spirit to guide every area of my life. Without You, Father, I can do nothing, so to You, Almighty God, I give the glory for every word, every thought, and any blessings someone may receive from this book.

Preface

It’s amazing what humans can do. I mean, think about Legos. Isn’t it amazing what a person can build out of those things? One piece looks like another until you begin to put them all together. Then wow! An amazing structure emerges. Moving parts … and the detail! What a masterpiece! What you build simply depends on your imagination and the right choices of pieces.

People are amazing. We may begin on pretty much common ground, yet as each page unfolds and our lives grow, the masterpiece we will become depends on the choices we will make. As a child of God in the Master’s hand, Jesus Christ our Savior molds our hearts, minds, and souls. When we allow our Lord to take the pieces and put them together, there are no limits.

As people, our hearts and our inner souls are complex. We may think we keep our hearts from being seen, but the God of all the universe sees everything, even the invisible parts no one else does. Our hearts may be invisible to the world, but not to almighty God. When we no longer see God as God, we need reminders of His greatness. What the enemy, Satan, wants is for us to make choices that forget God and chase after our own way.

If he can keep us distracted, we become powerless, unfruitful, and lifeless. Many Christians live as though our God lives in a box or a bottle. Our distorted view comes from a sinful and stained world. We put God on our level, in our closet, and expect Him to dance when we sing. This book will take us on a journey to see, learn, and apply what can happen when we are yielded and when we are not to almighty God. When we allow our hearts to be filled and yielded to our God, oh, the possibilities!

1 Samuel 25:2–42¹ is an amazing story of how God moves mountains, deals with the scoundrels in our lives, restores, protects, and gives us the wisdom we need to face all sorts of obstacles. Join me as we learn together that though we may be limited, we may have boundaries, we may have struggles, and it may be hard, but God can do it all. The Heart Unseen reveals what God can do with a willing heart. Brace yourself. You may climb that wall yet.

Chapter 1

Building a Résumé (Who Are You?)

A résumé is a collection of events and explanations of experiences in a person’s life. When a person applies for a job, he or she will often produce a résumé to show experience. The surprising thing is that everyone has a résumé. And each person has three things in common on these résumés: a beginning, a middle, and an end. Some are longer than average; others are shorter. The question is this: when God reads your résumé of life, what will it say? And He will read it (Romans 14:11–13).

From the moment God puts each person on this planet, his or her résumé begins to take form, and He has a plan for each of us (Jeremiah 29:11). The résumé of our lives begins to take shape the moment God has us in the womb. As we