Lately, the word wholeheartedly keeps coming into my presence. I have unintentionally seen this word frequently over the past couple of weeks as I opened my bible, read blog posts, listened to songs, and heard about it in midst of conversations with people. The word wholeheartedly was coincidentally on repeat in my little everyday world. It was quietly spoken through the words of my people and was boldly imprinted in repetitive verses in the bible. 

Wholeheartedly. Wholeheartedly. Wholeheartedly.

I thought to myself, “what even is the definition of wholeheartedly? What does wholeheartedly mean?” It sure is a beautiful word (cue the next hobby lobby sign posted up on my wall). As I sat with this word, I came to discover it has a deeper connotation that tugged on my naive heart.  And I am here to share with you & dive deeper into what this word wholeheartedly means. 

I tapped in the search bar What is the Hebrew root word of wholehearted?, and the answer is TAMIM. 
The meaning of TAMIM is blameless, complete, upright, and full. Instantly, this “cute” word became a very powerful word. A load of weight is carried with it, and its definition holds clarity on what God intended for this word to be to us as believers.

 In 2 Chronicles 19:9 (NIV), it is said “He gave him these orders: You must serve faithfully & wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord.”  Contextually, King Jehoshaphat was appointing judges in the land of Jerusalem when he ordered them to serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord. Jehoshaphat says to serve wholeheartedly in fear of the Lord. To fully serve with all of our hearts because we fear the goodness and holiness of God.
Additionally, the word wholeheartedly is found in this verse: “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people” Ephesians 6:7 (NIV). In Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”(NIV). Note the last verse does not specifically say wholeheartedly, but it does emphasize “with ALL of your heart.”

In today’s times, it is common to find our hearts to be perplexed by feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. It is easy to start letting worry flood our minds as we try to control & predict our life. King Jehoshaphat firmly notes to wholeheartedly serve. Wholeheartedly was a purposefully chosen word to describe how we are called to serve the Lord.  Jehoshaphat did not say “causally serve, half-heartedly (whenever you feel up to it) or when you have the time to do so.”

Wholeheartedly means fully and uprightly serving. When our anxious hearts start to pitter-patter, we need to tap into what condition our hearts are in. Are we choosing to fully, completely, and whole-heartedly trust in the Lord? When worries flood our minds, how can we fulfill having a wholehearted posture? 
Jesus said to love with all of our hearts, our souls, and minds (Matthew 22:37). With ALL of our hearts. WHOLEheartedly. Not a halfway, lackadaisical, “maybe later” heart. The condition of our hearts is to be fully committed to the Lord.  The posture of our hearts needs to be held upright by the palms of His hands.

Wholeheartedness includes the messiness of our hearts. I think we tend to wait until we are in perfect condition to give it all to the Lord. But it’s not about having this perfectly sculpted and scar-free heart, unscraped by past mistakes, failures, & regrets. Wholeheartedly is to show ALL of your heart to the Lord. To give all your heart to Him. Lift all anxiety that crowds your bones, all nerves that electrify your senses, and all the worries that occupy space in your mind. He wants all of your heart and wants you to dedicate every fiber of it to serve Him. The hearts that have been broken, He can restore wholeheartedly. And the stone cold hearts, He can break the icicles of bitterness so you can know what wholeheartedly feels like. 

If you do not know David’s story in the Bible, he was a simple shepherd boy that became the King of God’s people. Along his journey, he was a man that messed up left & right, much like us. But David is known as the man after God’s own heart. Even amidst his brokenness and sinful nature, David chose to give the fullness of his heart to serve the Lord. He wholeheartedly chose to serve God, and it favored him the credibility as the man after God’s heart. A man who wholeheartedly chose God with all his heart, soul, and mind despite brokenness & messiness.

Day in and day out, let’s give the fullness of our hearts.

Let’s wholeheartedly serve our God.

Free from hesitation & reservation. 

Free from laziness and halfheartedness. 

Just give it all. Wholeheartedly.

With all my heart (wholeheartedly ;))

Haley