The heart is a powerful organ that dictates many of our actions. Indeed, the bible knows how powerful it is because it warns us in the following way: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23). This proverb teaches us that we must protect our hearts or “keep our hearts with all vigilance”. The words used denote an active engagement in the action of guarding our hearts. This is not something that can be done passively. To guard is to protect, to be like a watchman over something. When it comes to our hearts, we must be very careful with it, we must handle it with care. Among the many things our contemporary love songs teach us about the heart, we find that: it is precious, it is easily broken and it’s in it that we store and nurture our love for others. Take for example the famous song titled “Don’t go breaking my heart” by Elton John and Kiki Dee, in the lyrics, the singers talk about the risk that is in opening your heart to someone, the song is almost a plea to the person that has been welcomed into another’s heart to be gentle with it. Given the unique make of our hearts, the bible commands us in many other passages to be careful with our hearts so that it will be well with us. In the book of Ezekiel, a recurrent theme is Israel’s abandonment of her first love. Israel became a prostitute and followed her own way, her heart was led astray by the desires of the flesh, and the consequences were dire. God requires a complete devotion from us, He does not want us to have a divided heart when we come to Him, He requires All of us and that includes our heart. Today’s post, I would like to talk more about what the bible says about the heart and how we can align it with God.
Throughout the scriptures, we see God portrayed as one that loves His people with an everlasting love. We see a God who is constantly forgiving the sins and iniquities of His people when they repent; we see a God who is relentlessly pursuing sinners like us; we see a God who is just and enacts His judgement at the right time. In fact, we see the heart of God on display in the way He expresses Himself and in His actions. For example, in His judgement against Judah, He declared something powerful that is revelatory of His character: “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23). This verse tells us that God’s delight is not in the death of the wicked, in fact He does not even want the wicked to perish! God wants the wicked to repent of his sins and live. God wants life for all! Jesus said something similar in the following way: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). God is very consistent with who He is, whether you find Him in the Old Testament or the New, He remains the same. I find that very impressive and for that alone, He deserves my utmost respect. God knows our hearts, and He knows how divided we can get at times, that is why He says “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”. The next verse of the same chapter has a solution that gives us relief and it says, “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10). Our hearts are very unstable, and many things can flow from it but for us to ensure only good things flow from it, we need to submit it to the Lord because He, unlike us knows our hearts. He knows our deepest thoughts. He knows us. We can submit to the Great I AM who made us and has proven again and again and again how much He loves us and wants our best.
In His kindness and mercy, God has made it possible for us to actually guard our hearts. He has made it possible for us to watch our hearts with all diligence and vigilance. The reason Jesus came into this world was to restore the broken relationship that existed before sin between God and man. That relationship was perfect, and the communion man enjoyed with God is something that we are just longing for on this earth. This is what Jesus came to restore and He did that by dying on the cross for our sins, delivering us from the wrath of God that was upon us, cancelling the debt and accusations that stood against us and giving us a new life, a new spirit, one that is united with Him. God and man finally have their relationship restored but the completion of that restoration will happen when Jesus comes back to judge the living and the dead on that Day. However, what this sacrifice means is that the Holy Spirit now dwells in us and compels us to live a life of submission, a life pleasing to the Father. That is why we are living in a constant war against the flesh because our spirit does not align with our flesh. Before Christ, we couldn’t properly guard our hearts, all our attempts were futile, we could do well one day and not the other but Christ, through the Holy Spirit has given us power to guard our hearts by saying no to sin, no to unrighteousness, no to anything that defiles the temple of God that we are, anything that defames the Name of God that we bear, anything at all that brings shame to the Most High. Brothers and sisters, this is not a joke. Our new identity in Christ also comes with huge responsibilities. We are not our own anymore therefore we can no longer insist on our own will to be done rather we must submit to the will of the Father just as Jesus did. He is our example. Anything that we do good or bad affects the image of our Father. No wonder we are told to do everything for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). This world has been polluted with sin and evil so much that even creation awaits the manifestation of the sons of God (Romans 8:19). I find it incredible that even creation is tired of the way things are, tired of being a collateral damage. If then creation is this tired, how much more we who bear the image of Christ, we who are his followers? I understand that we do not always have feelings that compel us to practice spiritual disciplines such as prayer, scripture meditation, fasting, etc. yet this should not stop us from doing those. Indeed, we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us and as Paul says in Romans “and he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” (Romans 8:27). What is clear from that passage is that if we rely on the Spirit of God, we can never be wrong. We will be doing the right thing because it would be relinquishing any power to the Spirit who actually knows the mind of Christ and knows our hearts. Again, because of our weakness and our inability to know beyond what we see, we must rely on the Spirit of God to show us what to do. Therefore, let us strive to include Him in our daily habits, let us engage Him in all of our activities so that we see our hearts and lives changed.
One thing I love about God is the fact that He gave us freewill. He could have forced us to love Him and choose Him, but He did not do that. He wanted us to choose Him for who He really is. He showed us how to love so that we would respond appropriately to His love. His love is the perfect love that casts out fear (1 John 4:18-19). God is for us and nobody can be against us (Romans 8:31). The way He continues to display His love and affection for those He has chosen is incomprehensible. Yet, in all this, He expects to receive our hearts fully and undivided. The bible makes many harsh statements about the man who has an undivided heart. For example, James says a double-minded man is unstable in all he does and will not receive anything from the Lord (James 1:8). Moreover, in Ezekiel, we see that the person who has lived in righteousness if he abandons that righteousness to follow sinful practices will be condemned for his wickedness. In the same way, the person who has lived in wickedness if he abandons his wickedness and follow righteousness will not die but will live (Ezekiel 18:21-24). James continues along the same lines and says, “for whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). The expectation is to be completely devoted all the time. To be able to follow the law without stumbling, our hearts must be entirely God’s. For our hearts to be entirely God’s we need to be devoted to Him, His commands and it starts by first submitting ourselves to the Holy Spirit. I pray we learn to live a life of submission to the Word and everything that bears his Name. Amen!
A Word Aptly Spoken 