The Heart of the Matter
God is jealous for your heart! I’m going to say it again, God is jealous for your heart. No matter where you find yourself in your walk with the Lord, one thing will always be true; He is longing for your heart. The thing most important to God is your heart. He holds that as the highest value. There is nothing more important to Him than having your heart belong to Him. This message is written all over the Bible. Let’s backtrack a little. Proverbs 4:23 states “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it”. Let’s dissect this verse. This verse is like a command, above all else, guard your heart. What does it actually look like to guard your heart, I believe it means first starting with guarding your mind. I once heard that your meditating on your thoughts goes down to heart and turns into emotions and from those emotions they turn into actions. For example: If one of my friends said something really harsh, instantly we internalize it and start to meditate or think about that certain comment, from that meditation it turns into feelings of anger in our hearts, from that we react in a harsh manner back. This is a very fast process that happens everyday in our lives. We don’t see it until we don’t even recognize ourselves. We build up so many things throughout the day, week, month that there’s a time that it all explodes and we even scare ourselves. This why it is so important that everyday we do a heart check, whether that be journaling or speaking it out. We live in such a fallen word, broken people, hurt people that we forget that things can get to us, doesn’t matter how unbothered and nonchalant you say you are. We are human. We will speak about that another time. Exposing the things that have affected us throughout the day. By doing a heart check it prevents us from becoming jaded or numb to the kindness of Jesus but also it helps to clear out the gunk and trash that accumulates in our hearts each and everyday. Ultimately guarding your heart from exploding down the line. Another important piece of guarding your heart is while doing these heart checks you basically start doing inventory in your heart. Is these thoughts and feelings stemming from this that i’m listening and or watching. Everything that you do or say come from somewhere. Whether that be trauma or the decisions we make in our day to day. When I personally do these heart checks I have to be really honest even with myself. We have to try and stop hiding things from the Lord, He knows all things. He just wants our permission to be brought into what is going on with us. He knocks on the door, but it is our decision to open it and let Him in. And even when we let Him in we have to let Him make his home in us. What I mean by this is we can easily let Him in but still restrict Him. Let me explain, we can let him into our hearts but still not let Him into many places in our hearts. We can still not let him into the deep places of pain and disappointment. So I ask you, if you yearn for a deeper relationship with the Lord start in the places of your heart where you have not given him access, the places you believe are too much for him, the places that seem too dirty. Let this truth be your truth today He desires to live in your deepest pain, disappointment, and insecurity. There is nothing more in His heart then to heal us and be made one with Him. His heart beats for us. The Bible is a love story between a divine God and His people. He desires you, not just the good parts but all the bad. He is the one that created us, O He knew what He was getting into. Your sin is not a shock to Him. Your pain is not too deep that He can’t heal. It all requires deeper surrender. So surrender your fears, pain, insecurity and disappointment into the arms of the Father. His arms are open, his smile beaming down on you, His eyes full of forgiveness and love. This is Him; Jesus.
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
Even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
How precious to me are your thoughts,God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand, when I awake, I am still with you.
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139
