How About Your Heart?
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and
know my thoughts. And see if there be any
wicked way in me, and lead me in the way
everlasting. (Psalm
139:23-24 KJV)
When I think of February,
I think of pink and red Valentine’s Day cards
amidst cupids, hearts and romantic rhymes. Cards
such as these are meant to tell our admiration
and heartfelt feelings for someone special.
It is only normal to think
of the beating heart within us when someone
says, “I love you with all my heart.” But
actually, the heart I’m speaking of is not the
pumping muscle that keeps us alive, but the
depth of our innermost being. Scripture speaks
about the “heart” over 900 times, and in almost
every instance it has to do with the spiritual
heart.
Clearly, we feel something
from deep down inside when our hearts have been
broken, when we have feelings of love or even
great disappointments. Those feelings come from
inside our innermost being - or in our heart.
This inner person or
spiritual heart has to do with the center of the
human spirit, which flow our thoughts,
motivations and actions. Those things are what
the Bible speaks of as the “issues” that spring
from us:
Keep thy heart with all
diligence;
for out of it are
the issues of life.
(Proverbs 4:23 KJV)
I have been thinking about
the “heart” and how it is capable of many
characteristics, both good and evil. I am sure
that you will agree with me that it is difficult
to understand the evil that people can get
themselves into. Even the prophet Jeremiah
said:
The heart is deceitful
above all things and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
(Jer.
17:9 NIV)
In Genesis 6 we can get
our first glimpse of the evil in man’s heart.
God was even grieved that He had created man
because He saw the inclination of the thoughts
of man’s heart and that it was evil all the
time. (Gen. 6:5-6)
So if our
hearts are that evil just by nature, what can be
done about it? In other words, what is the
“prescription” or the “remedy” for these stony
hearts of ours? Since the Word emphasizes that
God looks at the heart (1 Sam. 16:7), then it is
left up to us to examine our hearts (Ps. 26:2).
Psalm 4:4 says we’re to even search our hearts
on our beds. Since God knows the hidden secrets
of our hearts (Ps. 44:21) and sees what is in
them, then and we must confess our faults to
Him.
Even though King David was
a man after God’s own heart, he knew all about
getting into some major jams. Actually, David
jumped into his jam with both feet! But after
some time he found that he had to go to God
asking Him to help him with his own “heart”
problems so he prayed:
Create in me a clean
heart, O God, and renew a
steadfast spirit within me.
(Ps.
51:10 KVJ)
We can see from David’s
prayer that going to God in prayer is the first
and foremost remedy for our hearts. We must seek
God daily so He can help us overcome the
thoughts and evil desires that spring forth from
our hearts so we will not get into trouble.
I know for me, the only
way for this hard heart to even come close to
softening was for it to be broken and even
“crushed,” as a dear friend of mine explained.
I found that I had to go to God with a sincere
and contrite heart for there to be hope for me.
The times I have spent on bended knee with my
eyes overflowing with tears, asking God to
change this heart of mine were so precious to
me. Praise God for His divine help, but I must
continually ask God for help because there are
new issues every day! You see these “heart
problems” last for a lifetime for all of us!
Another remedy for the
issues of the heart is to “hide God’s Word in
our hearts.”
Thy Word have I hid in
mine heart,
that I might not sin
against thee.
(Ps. 119:11 KJV)
I have noticed in the Word
of God that there is quiet an emphasis on loving
and serving God with all of our hearts and with
all of our souls and with all of our strength.
(Dt. 11:13; 13:3; 26:16; 30:2)
Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your strength.
(Dt.
6:5 NIV)
When we begin to love God
with all of our hearts and with all of our souls
and with all of our strength, then we will see
something taking place that we’ve never seen
before. We will become more and more like our
Savior and what is inside of us will be realized
by the world around us. How is that even
possible? Could it just be what’s inside our
hearts eventually has to come out?
As a face is reflected in
water,
so the heart reflects the
person.
(Prov. 27:19 NLT)
* * * * *
Song of Reflection:
Cleanse Me
J. Edwin Orr
Search me, O God, and know
my heart today
Try me, O Savior, know my
thoughts, I pray
See if there be some
wicked way in me
Cleanse me from every sin,
and set me free
Prayer:
Father, I come worshiping and honoring You. I
praise You because of who You are and for all
that You do in our lives. You’re the One we can
run to when we need deliverance from every
weakness in our hearts. Cleanse hearts today
Father and help each one to be open to the
Spirit of the Living God. Make us clean and new
and it will be evident to the world around us.
Cleanse away the dross, the filth, even the
cobwebs which can clog up the arteries of our
spiritual hearts and keep us from going forward
for Jesus Christ. Revive the passion for you
that may have dwindled. Search us O God and know
our hearts and our thoughts. See if there be
any wicked way in us and lead us in the way
everlasting. In Jesus’ Name. Amen
