TODAY’S INSPIRATION: HOW’S YOUR HEART?

We know that our heart is the organ that pumps the blood around in our bodies. Society uses the heart shape as a symbol for love. In the Bible, the word “heart” refers to the intellect, will, and emotions, and the word “pure” means unmixed or clean. We need a pure heart in order to live righteously. Being pure in heart means having an inner moral righteousness, it means intentionally seeking the will of God. It means sincerely focusing on pleasing God and not the world. It means walking in the spirit and not in the flesh. Pleasing God is a matter of living according to scripture and doing so in love. God is love. The heart can be loving, compassionate, understanding, but it is also complicated. It can be hurtful, abusive, manipulative, unfeeling, and the Bible teaches us it can be deceitful as well. This is because the heart is subject to the flesh and a sinful world. If we are not careful the heart can lead us into a path of destruction!

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves:” (Romans 1:24)

“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,” (1 Peter 1:22)

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

We must remember every day to fill our hearts with gratefulness. When we are grateful, we are not so consumed with the things of this world and what we may be going through. Sometimes we start to take for granted what we do have and we grumble and complain about what we don’t have, and before we realize it, our heart is filled with envy, jealousy, comparison, and ungratefulness. There is nothing pure about these things and they are not pleasing to God. Our hearts can be hardened to the point that we no longer see God as the source of everything that we are and everything that we have. An ungrateful heart reveals a lack of trust in God. A heart of gratitude leaves no room for complaining. For it is impossible to be truly thankful and filled with negativity and ungratefulness at the same time.

“Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” (Colossians 2:6-7)

It can be difficult at times to maintain an attitude of gratitude or to be thankful when life gets hard and things seem to be falling apart. But a thankful heart is the key that turns your situation around because it changes your perspective and your attitude. There is power in a thankful heart. We must seek to have an attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving each day. We can trust that no matter what is going on, God is always working on our behalf even if we can’t see it. Which is why we can choose to rejoice even in the midst of stressful circumstances. It does not mean we are rejoicing over the situation or circumstances, but we rejoice because we know the One who is in control. When we tap into the wisdom of the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, we do not have to allow our circumstance to hold us captive and weigh heavy on our hearts. We can rejoice even when we don’t understand why, because we can trust that God has a purpose and a plan.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” (Psalm 100:4)

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Romans 12:12)

“To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever.” (Psalm 30:12)

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Scripture tells us to guard our hearts. Surrendering our heart to Jesus is the first step. We must ask God to examine our hearts and then make a genuine effort to strive for a pure heart in all our interactions, even with our enemies.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23)

“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 139:23-24)

There is a song that asks the question, where do broken hearts go? The answer is to Jesus. The Lord will hear our prayers when our hearts break from the troubles of this world. When we give our hearts to God, we stop worrying about all that we can’t control. We start to trust in Him because we know that our heart is in a safe place. David was a man after God’s own heart. We all know that David was not perfect but what set him apart was that his heart was pointed toward God. God looks at the heart of man and not the flesh, because if the heart is right, God can help us change the flesh. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

“And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.” (Acts 13:22)

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)

“And we have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.”(1 John 4:16)

The way to guard our hearts and keep it pure is to only allow what is pleasing to God to penetrate, and to always maintain an attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving. A pure heart brings peace and contentment. Love and Blessing…