What Moves the Heart of God?

Books could be written on this subject, but I have one story (and a biblical example) of what it takes to move God in a way that changes everything in your world.

May 23, 2025

The proposition of this Newsletter is that you can know God. No special position or title is needed. God is knowable. Personally, I have gotten to know God in two ways: through the Word of the Year project and by reading the Bible. I continue to add to those two through prayer, meditation, and contemplation.

When I consider what it means to know God, I ask myself: “What moves God's heart?”

They are closely linked—knowing God and moving God's heart. While I don’t work to know God to strong-arm Him into doing what I want, when I begin to know God, I learn how I move his heart toward the things within my heart (though you could argue that it is my heart that is moving toward him by me knowing God).

So, what moves the heart of God? We engage God by aligning with his nature.

A Little Pagan Revelry

In the Old Testament, there is a famous story about Aaron, Moses' brother, creating a golden calf for the people of Israel to worship. He made the idol in Moses’ absence on the mountain, because the people believed Moses had died. So, in a few short days, the Israelites let loose and went crazy.

Paul describes this scene from Exodus 32 in his letter to the Corinthian church. He wraps his summary in a concern for followers of Jesus:

These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.” -1 Corinthians 10:6-7

When Moses walked into the camp, he found a nation engaged in pagan revelry. His assistant, Joshua, described the sound as that of war. That’s quite a party for Moses to come home to and clean up after. It was more than just a house party gone wild, though.

Ditching God for a Cheap Knock-Off

When the Apple iPod was first released, I wanted the device that put thousands of songs into my pocket. I wanted it, but I didn’t want to pay for it, so I purchased the Dell version at a discount. I don’t remember it’s name, but I do remember it was a poor knock-off version of the iPod.

turned on iPod on black surface — Photo by insung yoon on Unsplash

This is exactly what the Israelites did with their idol.

It wasn’t just a gold calf in the middle of the desert, the people turned their backs on the God who saved them from centuries of slavery. They sold out for a cheap knock-off. It was so abhorrent to God that he was prepared to destroy them all and start over with Moses.

At that moment, Moses partnered with the nature of God to turn the heart of God.

Moses asks God to remember his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He pleads with God to think about what the Egyptians would think when they hear of God destroying his special, chosen people in the desert. Moses boldly asks God to repent or to turn from his intentions.1

The Nature of God

Moses tapped into something he intuitively knew, and subsequently heard God say about himself a few chapters later. Moses was forced to return up the mountain for a new copy of the Ten Commandments (which he broke in anger at seeing the sin in the camp).

This is how God describes himself to Moses:

“Yahweh! The Lord!
The God of compassion and mercy!
I am slow to anger
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.
I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.
But I do not excuse the guilty.
I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren;
the entire family is affected—
even children in the third and fourth generations.” -Exodus 34:6-7

Compassionate. Merciful. Patient. Loving. Faithful. Forgiving. Just.

Moses pleaded with God to remember all of these characteristics, and it worked. Moses turned the heart of God.

Knowing God = Generosity

Knowing God is one of the most important books for Christians written in the 20th century. In it, J.I. Packer describes this passage in Exodus as a characterization of God’s goodness. Packer then takes a vital next step to connect God's goodness with his generosity.

This [God’s goodness] is the quality of generosity.
Generosity means a disposition to give to others in a way which has no mercenary motive and is not limited by what the recipients deserve but consistently goes beyond it. Generosity expresses the simple wish that others should have what they need to make them happy. Generosity is, so to speak, the focal point of God's moral perfection; it is the quality which determines how all Gods other excellences are to be displayed.
-J.I. Packer

God generously lavishes his goodness on his creation.

Returning to the Golden Calf story, Moses generously asked God to be merciful to the Israelites. It would have been easier for Moses to walk away from the trouble, responsibility, and work this knucklehead nation caused him. It could have been just Moses and God.

You know that feeling — just me and you, God, these people around me are just one problem after another. Moses, though, partnered with God’s nature. Moses tapped into generosity.

Tapping into God’s Generosity

For the past several years, our church has hosted a massive Easter egg hunt on our grounds. This year, over 1500 people descended onto our campus, and we distributed over 12,000 eggs on our lawn. As you can imagine, it is a huge undertaking that requires over 100 volunteers to participate.

This year, one of our all-star volunteers was a couple who ran the “egg walk” (an Easter take on a cake walk). They ran this station with the energy and charisma needed for an open-air event with hundreds of people milling about. It was constant motion that was never at a lull. While our staff wasn’t surprised at their ability, we were beyond appreciative of what they brought to the event.

That took place on a Saturday. The next day at the church service, I thanked them again for their effort. It was then that I heard their true act of generosity.

This couple has wanted children for years but haven’t been able to have kids. Biologically, it wasn’t an option, and while they’ve worked hard to adopt, it has been fruitless. While they loved the idea of a family outreach to the community, the reality of their participation was painful.

They choose to tap into God’s nature.

The Sunday before the event, our pastor challenged the congregation to do one radically generous act for someone around them. This couple determined that participating in the church’s egg hunt would be their act of radical generosity. As they told me their story, tears were in their eyes (okay, mine too), so I thanked them again.

When we partner with the nature of God, we move the heart of God.

I couldn’t help but think of that moment when not a month later I received a text message with a picture of this couple holding their newly adopted infant daughter. After years of waiting, their adoption had finally come through!

I wish I could tell you THE reason the adoption came through was because of their generous act, but I can’t. I can assure you that partnering with God’s nature moves his heart. Years of prayers, buckets of tears, and decades of faithfulness mattered, but there is something special when we partner with God’s nature.

Partner with God’s Nature

I don’t know what you are waiting on, looking for, or hold out to see, but I do know a way to move God’s heart is to partner with his nature. Be generous. Give of your time, money, resources. Give until it hurts.

I won’t guarantee you’ll get the “thing” you are waiting for, but I will guarantee you will move God’s heart. This is worth everything you have. When you partner with God, you aren’t selling out for the cheap knock-off. You’re interacting with the God of the universe.

Finally, thank you for your subscription! A shout out to new subscribers Mindy + SKM. I am amazed you appreciate my writing enough to make space in your inbox. I would love to hear your thoughts. Would you take a moment to leave a comment?