The Heart of the Matter

“The Heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9

There are so many times that we struggle with our hearts. I care about this person or that thing. Or I despise that person and want nothing to do with that matter. What causes us to choose one over the other? Whatever is going on within our hearts decides our choices. Our hearts seem tossed about by each breath of wind or every wave that crosses our paths.

If I am a follower of Jesus, He lives within my heart. I must train myself to listen to Jesus’ heart that resides within me. Only His heart is steady and true.

As we learn to listen to his heart we discover that there are emotions and habits of my heart that can block out the voice of Jesus. There is so much “noise” within us. We can get so caught up in the drive to succeed, to provide, feel secure and significant. The should’s, could’s, and ought to’s cry out and drown out the still small voice of the One we claim to be following. We must discover how to tune out the “noise” that clutters our hearts so that we can tune into the Spirit of Jesus.

This summer I went out to Colorado. One day I went up on the side of a mountain seeking an answer to a prayer. As I sat there praying and seeking God, He came to me and said, “Listen!” So I tried to tune out the noise of struggle and confusion and listen.

I heard frogs, the rustle of leaves as a squirrel ran through them, the swish of the wind in the leaves, the snip, snip, snip of grasshopper wings, and the cascade of water down a mountain side. God whispered: “Worship me.”

I was drawn into the music of His creation. I lifted up my heart to him. The clutter of my heart fell away. There in the midst of Him, I discovered the power and the joy of a heart that fully opened to His love. The peace of His Spirit flowed over my heart. I no longer needed the answer to my prayer. My heart was being drawn into the One who died for it.

When we open our hearts to Him and allow Him to fill them, life has a way coming together in a new perspective. We discover that He was there all the time. We realize that we can wait upon Him and discover renewed strength.

Open my heart Lord, I want to “see” You!