Having grown up in a musical home, I started writing songs at an early age. Some have taken months—even years—to compose. Others have come together in minutes, as the lyrics leaped onto the page. One day, after contemplating what God truly desires from us in worship, I experienced one of those “instant song” (just add melody) moments as these lyrics flowed from my pen: It’s in the heart, not in the voice. It’s out of love, not out of choice.

That song excerpt captures what King Hezekiah of Judah lived out in 2 Chronicles 30. King Ahaz, the previous king, had “continued to reject the Lord” (2 Chronicles 28:22), but Hezekiah reopened the temple even as the people of Judah began reopening their hearts to God (2 Chronicles 29:3).

After getting the temple “restored to service” (2 Chronicles 29:35), the good king prepared his people to celebrate the Passover. In fact, he even invited the people from Israel (to the north) to come and join the festivities (2 Chronicles 30:1). But an issue surfaced that threatened this sacred festival of worship to God: If Hezekiah and the people were to celebrate the Passover on the prescribed dates, the priests would not be prepared in time and not all the people would have made it to Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 30:3).

So what to do? Hezekiah pushed back the Passover one month. Even with that unheard of alteration, some of the people arrived late and weren’t properly cleansed for the ceremony (2 Chronicles 30:18). But the king allowed them to take part anyway, noting they had come with hearts that indicated their desire “to follow the Lord” (2 Chronicles 30:19).

Hezekiah revealed an important aspect of worship to God: It’s more important to have the right heart and attitude than to simply go through the motions in a certain way or at a certain time. Let’s worship God with truly devoted hearts today.

NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Luke 24:44-53