Is Your Heart in the Right Place?
The reality is we often fail outwardly to live up to what we know about being a Christian because we have failed to look inwardly and take care of our own heart first.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it (Proverbs 4:23, NIV).
A flight attendant instructs us over the speaker before takeoff to put on your own oxygen mask first before helping others. We really need to apply this to our own lives, as we can’t help anyone else if we do not care for ourselves first.
Caring for ourselves is not just a matter of doing things that are exciting or relaxing but looking within to find what we need for our hearts to be filled. In order to do this, we need a spiritual connection to God. If we do not have this, then we are living in spiritual poverty and are simply filling our lives with things that we may treasure and will ultimately bring no fulfilment.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)
When we ask if someone’s heart is in the right place we think in terms of kindness, compassion, caring, and perhaps even generosity. Anatomically, our hearts are almost centered in the chest cavity with a slight tilt to the left. However, there is a condition called Dextrocardia where the heart tilts in the opposite direction, even though it is not true of all cases, this opposite tilt can lead to numerous health issues throughout life. If we took time out to examine our hearts as Christians, we may see that there are things in our lives that tilt away from God.
Additionally, the heart muscle after a heart attack cannot repair itself, it is left with scarring leaving the heart in a weaker state. The scaring cannot contribute to the contractile force needed to keep the blood pumping through the body efficiently and therefore can lead to heart failure.
When we tilt away from God, we become spiritually sick, we cut ourselves off from receiving all God has to offer us. We end up with scars, shame and burdens that we carry from living in a world full of distraction, pain and sin.
So then, if our hearts need to be in a ‘right position’, what does that look like? To answer this question, we need to examine the heart of Jesus.
Jesus’ heart was pure, we can see this through His serving, healing, miracles and the love He had for people, and through laying down His own life for you, me and all humanity. He laid down His life and went through torture, humiliation and suffering just so each one of us might take the opportunity to get to know Him and have a relationship with Him.
Even though God is always pursuing us to have a relationship with Him, He gave us free will to choose. He wants YOU to choose Him, but He will not force you. Therefore, if we must CHOOSE Him, we need to ask ourselves, how do we touch God’s heart? What are some ways in which we can form this connection with our Heavenly Father?
Here are a few things I have done in my life to bring me closer to God,
Pursuing
Following the Lord through His word, prayer, meditating on scripture, giving God a space where I sit and listen for Him, being with like-minded people who help unravel the context, history and meaning of God’s word. Seeking God in all I do and asking Him to renew and transform me into who He says I am. ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6, NIV).
Thanksgiving
Having a thankful heart.
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7, NIV).
It is so easy to be thankful for the tangible things in our lives, but what about the intangible? Are you thankful for the work God is doing or has done in your life? Are you thankful for the strength He provides when you walk through valleys? Are you thankful for the wisdom and discernment He gives you? Are you thankful healing has taken place in your life? Can you see where He has brought you from? Are you thankful that God is God and that His love for us is unwavering despite our transgressions? ‘…give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever! (1 Chronicles 16:34, ESV).
There are endless questions we could ask ourselves and endless things that we can be thankful to God for in our lives.
Repenting
Asking God for forgiveness and to transform your heart. Although you can’t just ask, you also need to be willing to receive His forgiveness. By receiving His forgiveness, you are letting Him know you are trusting that he is working in you and that you are accepting of His grace. ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV). There is an efficacy of receiving grace, meaning that God wants to produce a result within us, but again free will allows us to receive or reject His grace. Self-forgiveness through God’s grace is a beautiful way of allowing God to come in and transform your heart.
Mindfulness
Being mindful of your words, actions and thoughts – do they line up with God’s word – are they of pure intent?
Consider the things that influence your life, then purify your life through removing and changing the things that do not align with God’s word and who He wants you to be. As hard as it may be for us, we need total dependance on God, we need His will to be done and not ours. “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42, NIV). Just as a parent wants the best for their child, so does our Father in Heaven want the best for us. If we decide to be willing participants God can come in and work on and through us. He knows how to get the best outcome for your life.
It is so important to recognize that when we know our place and who we are in Christ and allow Him to come in and work in us, we will be filled by His love. A love so great that our hearts have no other choice than to want to be more like Him, we are being sanctified in Him. Allowing God to take care of the business of your heart first will allow you to do right when it comes to having Jesus’ heart for others.
I want to encourage you today to consider the following questions:
What can I do today to examine the positioning of my heart?
How can I invite God in to transform my heart?
Am I willing to set time aside to be with God and what will that look like?
Be blessed as you go about your day and know that God is so in love with you and wants to walk with you in every aspect of your life.