Centre. Middle. Hub. Core. Kernel. Eye.
These are some synonyms of the word “heart”. It becomes clear that the heart isn’t just an organ. It’s a faculty – the most powerful one – from which our very existence (in every sense of the word) flows.
Right from the book of Genesis, to all of Scripture, and especially the Book of Proverbs, there is great emphasis on the heart.
In Genesis, when God was going to destroy the earth by flooding it, it was because the entire civilization had “heart problems.” The posture of their heart was wicked.
Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
genesis 6:5 (NKJV)
Every single thing we do as humans is originally done in our hearts. Everything we say is initially said in our hearts. Everywhere we go, we have first gone in our hearts. Everything we create, we have first manufactured in our hearts.
It’s impossible to do anything without first thinking about it.
Try it.
It’s simply impossible. Your heart is the very originator of your every move and action. It’s the wellspring or fountain – the source of your life. It directs the course of your life and is responsible for the kind of person you become.
This is why we’re so strongly admonished in God’s word to protect it at all cost.
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
proverbs 4:23 (nlt)
David understood how important it was to have a healthy heart, so he cried out to God saying “Create in me a clean heart.” (Psalm 51:10)
Oh what a prayer! The word of God refers to David as the man after God’s own heart. How exactly did David pursue God’s heart?
One of the major ways he did so was by maintaining a pure heart. He understood that the depth of his intimacy with God was hinged on the purity of his heart.
Dear one, it is impossible to build true, deep, and lasting intimacy with God without consciously working on cultivating a pure heart.
In teaching the beatitudes, Jesus said in Matthew 5:8 that “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
I don’t know about you, but I want to see God! I want to know Him in the deepest ways possible on this side of eternity.
I often find myself crying out to God – and I mean that literally; ugly crying from the core of my being, asking Him to give me a pure heart. I ask Him to purify, sanctify, and consecrate my heart. I ask Him to check my heart and see if there’s anything that displeases Him in there, and take it away.
I am so conscious of the state of my heart at every point in time. I know that it is impossible to truly walk with God without a pure heart. I understand that there are dimensions to His person and His purpose that He can never reveal to me if my heart is not right. I want all of Him and that’s why I cry so hard to be steeped in the spirit of purity and holiness.
I question my thoughts and intents before I do anything – before I do a post, make a comment, share that revelation, experience or story, speak to that person – I always try to judge my motives and ensure they are right before I take action.
Let me just say here that a pure heart isn’t one that never makes mistakes -absolutely not.
You already know David’s story. He made so many mistakes and got his hands in things he had no business getting them in, yet he had a right heart.
So how do you know if you have a pure heart?
- You know you have a pure heart when you’re super sensitive to the correction of the Holy Spirit; where your heart is broken the moment you realise that you hurt God with your thoughts or actions.
- Your heart is pure if you accept correction without defending your wrong actions.
- Your heart is pure if it is easily malleable, shapeable and moldable by God.
- Your heart is pure when you constantly find yourself genuinely crying out to God for the spirit of holiness to be poured out on you.
- It is pure when you have a reverential fear of grieving the Holy Spirit.
- Your heart is pure when your actions increasingly tell that they indeed are.
Dear one, you need to begin to care for your heart. You must nurture it so that out of it springs life and not death; kindness and not wickedness; good and not evil; righteousness and not sin; faith and not unbelief; gratitude and not complaining; honesty and not dishonesty.
You must actively consider the things that you think about. You must remain conscious of the kind of people around you, speaking into your life. You must watch whom you follow on social media, the music you listen to, the books you read, the movies you watch, the WhatsApp groups you’re in (yup, do that audit today!)
Please don’t joke with your heart. Care for it. Guard it as you would your physical eyes. Your very relationship with God depends on it. The outcomes of your life depend on it.
In The Passion Translation (TPT), the latter part of Proverbs 4:23 says “Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life.”
Today’s post was especially inspired when three verses really jumped at me from our chapter of the day, Proverbs 12.
“The thoughts and purposes of the [consistently] righteous are honest and reliable, but the counsels and designs of the wicked are treacherous.” – Proverbs 12:5
“Deceit is in the hearts of those who devise evil, but for the counselors of peace there is joy.” – Proverbs 12:20
“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but an encouraging word makes it glad.” – Proverbs 12:25
The righteous man’s heart is filled with honest and reliable thoughts; the wicked man’s, with deceit and treachery.
I especially love how verse 25 subtly reminds us to really care for our hearts.
If you’re discouraged, anxious, weighed down, feeling sad and hopeless, this verse reveals that what you need is an encouraging word.
You need to care for your heart enough to feed it what will make it healthy and glad again.
Speak to a trusted friend – that one that seems to have the gift of lifting people’s spirits with their words. Listen to worship music. Play a Joel Osteen sermon. Just fill your heart with words of encouragement and affirmation.
With these few points of mine, I do hope I’ve been able to convince you that heart work is the most essential work, and that you must constantly and consciously do it!
What is God teaching you from Proverbs 12 today?