Influence of the Heart

"My son, do not forget my teaching,

but keep my commands in your heart,

for they will prolong your life many years

and bring you peace and prosperity."

Proverbs 3:1-2

Its easy to think its my mind that most influences me for God, that guides me to His ways.  But in reality, its the heart that matters most (Proverbs 4:23,Psalm 139:23).

Treasure.  If it's success, my focus will be on climbing up the ladder.  If it's financial security, my attentions will be directed toward making sound investment decisions.  If it's relational, I'll spend my time building close bonds.  If it's health, my heart will be inspired to do all I can to preserve my body.  Whatever it is that I deem as valuable will drive my life.  And along with this drive will come the expectation that the thing I'm holding up as my treasure will bring satisfaction, meaning and fulfillment.  Until success never comes, the stock market crashes, the love of my life leaves and cancer ravages my body.  Now what?  I think.  What is the purpose of my life?  Now that my treasure is gone, where do I go from here?

As Jesus said, ". . .where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21)  The only secure investments of my passion and attention are the heavenly ones, so I would be wise to focus on the spiritual things of God, making it my goal to know Him more each day.  If I were to pray that He open the eyes of my heart, I would begin to see things more as He does, and find what is of eternal value that is worth pinning my devotion to (Ephesians 1:18).

I would be wise to pay attention to what I treasure, and learn to value heavenly things above all.

Desire.  "My heart is just not in it."  How many times in my life have I said this?  Too many times to count.  I do things out of obligation, but I'm not really into it.  I dot all the i's and cross all the t's but there is no joy in doing a good job.  I spend my time crossing things off my to-do-list, but I wonder what I've really accomplished.

I have come to this conclusion:  if my heart is in it, I'm all in.  If I'm somehow disconnected, it won't last.  It reminds me of the years I devoted to homeschooling.  Many people who were considering taking the plunge asked me for advice and I always said the same thing, "Make sure you have a calling to homeschool.  If you don't, when the going gets rough, and it will get rough, you will not have the commitment to see it through."  In other words, if your heart is not in it, it will not last.

The same is true with anything.  I have to ask myself, what is it that I want out of this?  Is it all about quenching some personal, fleshly thirst, or is it from God?  Is this what I want, or is it what God wants?  Does this line up with God's best for me, or am I settling for something less?

I would be wise to pay attention to my desires, and let God change my aspirations to line up with His.

Yield.  For years I agreed with the Gospel, but I didn't surrender control of my life to Jesus.  I knew that I was saved but I failed to trust Jesus as Lord.  I wanted eternal life but didn't want to give up control.  It took many years before I yielded to Jesus, letting Him have His way in my life.  Up until then I was what is called a "carnal Christian," looking just like the rest of the world in the way I live my life and the values that I hold yet identifying myself as a believer of Jesus.  

It's in the heart that I either resist God's attempts at transforming me from the inside out, or I cooperate (Romans 12:2).  I can learn all I want about God, but until I give my heart to Him, trusting Him wholeheartedly, it will never go deeper than the superficial (Proverbs 3:5-6).   If I'm always striving for what I want and never give up and let Him lead me toward what He wants, I'll never find contentment and peace (Psalm 46:10).  It's in the heart that I either yield to Him or resist Him.

I would be wise to let God have His way in my life, yielding my heart to Him.

I spend a lot of time focusing on knowledge and wisdom, but it is in the heart where my faith is really determined. Therefore, it is important that I cultivate a heart that is dedicated to God, treasuring the heavenly, desiring the godly, and yielding to Him.  When I do, I will realize the influence of the heart as my life song sings for the glory of God!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to yield to His loving hand of discipline and guidance.

When do I resist Him?

How do I neglect my heart, thinking it is what I know that most influences the direction of my life?

   

Companionship

"'Don't let your hearts be troubled.

Trust in God, and trust also in me.

there is more than enough room in my Father's home.

If this were not so,

would I have told you that I am going 

to prepare a place for you?

When everything is ready,

I will come and get you,

so that you will always be with me where I am.

And you know the way to where I am going.'"

John 14:1-3 NLT

God is all about togetherness.  He has been from the beginning.  He wants to enjoy closeness with me.  He made me for Himself.  So, when He sent Jesus, its no surprise that His mission was restoration of this bond that has been broken by sin (Romans 5:10, John 3:17).  It's what He really wants; for us to be together.

What does this companionship with God look like in the here and now?

Connection.  There is only one God, but three parts.  Our God is a triune God: each person separate and distinct, yet completely and fully God.  In the relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I see a picture of what it means for me to be connected to God.

Jesus is the conduit, the delivery system that transports all the good things from God to us.  In His death, I am offered abundant, eternal life, all through faith in Jesus.  Therefore, it is vital that I stay connected to this delivery system, Jesus, in order to continue receiving the power I need to live a fruitful life.  I can't produce the fruit on my own.  It comes from my connection to Jesus (John 15:5)  

Jesus demonstrated the need I have for my heavenly Father when He walked the earth as a man.  He said, "Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does." (John 5:19) There is a relationship there where the Son resembles the Father in character, but all power and authority comes from the Father.  He is the source.  

Jesus set the example but He is also the only way to the Father (John 14:6). Therefore, I must stay connected to Jesus to receive the power to live as I'm called to live.  This ability to love, to have peace that makes no sense, to experience joy, to be able to wait, it all comes straight from the Father, delivered through the Son and installed into my operating system by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Jesus is my connection to my Father as the Source and His Spirit is the manifestation of that relationship.

Exchange.  To live as a child of God through faith in Jesus, I must stop fighting against Him.  In order to live in His house as His daughter, I must yield to His plan for my life.  As a rule, what God wants for me is at odds with what I want for myself (Galatians 5:17).  Therefore, if I am to live in the peace with God that Jesus secured for me, I must stop resisting His work and let Him have His way.

Jesus beautifully and powerfully modeled this obedience to His Father's bidding when He agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane before His trial, suffering and death.  As He prayed to His Father, dreading the horrible ordeal He was facing, He appealed to Him, asking His Father to "take this cup of suffering away from me." (Luke 22:42a NLT)  Then, in submission to His Father's wishes He continued, "Yet I want your will to be done, not mine." (v 42b NLT)  This is to be my attitude as well.

Companionship with God means exchanging my will for His.

Enjoy.  Contrary to popular belief, religion is not dry and boring.  Well, maybe religion is, but relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ and expressed by the Holy Spirit in my heart is meant to be enjoyed.  It is what I was made for so it makes sense that it would be what brings the greatest sense of fulfillment and joy (Psalm 37:4, Matthew 6:33).

The Sons of Korah, those singers of psalms, knew the joy that comes from living in relationship with the One who made them.  They sang to the Lord, "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere." (Psalm 84:10)  Were they saying the most fulfilling service is that which is done to the Lord, or were they speaking of their relationship with God?  Since one came through the court in order to enter into the King's presence or to draw close to God in His temple, I believe they were singing of communion with their Father.  There is nothing better than to be in the presence of the Lord, for that is what I was made for!

I was created to live in relationship with God, and this companionship is where joy is found.

Loneliness is perhaps one of mankind's greatest modes of suffering.  It hurts to live this life alone and I was not meant for such agony.  Instead, I was made for relationship, primarily with the One who made me.  Therefore, when I enter into a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ I'll find the connection with Him is vital, and that it is necessary to stop fighting against Him and exchange His will for mine, and that I was meant to enjoy Him forever.  This is the companionship for which I was made.  This is the companionship for which I have been searching.  This is true companionship!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to let my guard down so that He can draw as close as He wants to me.

When am I afraid of intimacy with God?

How am I resisting His will in my life?