Matters of the Heart

Everything about God is beautiful, including His heart. I imagine the experience of retreating in His love much like walking into a room full of snow white and blood red roses. If we are made in the image and likeness of Him, then shouldn't our hearts be the same? Ephesians 5:2 states, "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma." So, what sacrifices could we make unto the Lord that would produce a sweet-smelling aroma? If you look at the commencement of this scripture, you will find that it calls us to "walk in love". As believers, we are called to be doers. When we walk in love, we are responding to the directions of the heart. God is the conductor. Walking in love means we are acting in love, we are serving, and we are extending a hand to one another. Then our walk becomes a light sprint, a jog, until soon we are willing and able to "run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1b). We will get our heart rate up to the point that it flutters at every opportunity to partake in a good work or good deed.

Referring back to Ephesians 5:2, Christ sacrificed Himself for us, and we are challenged to do the same. We can sacrifice our hearts unto the Lord by walking in love and into that room full of roses. Each good deed and every thoughtful word spoken is written on the vein of a rose petal. Now picture God as He plucks each petal off of the stem. He draws it to His nose, breathes in, and grins. I imagine these words like dew drops dripping from His lips, this is a "sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God." (Philippians 4:22)

God finds something uniquely special in His children that is measured beyond our beauty, brilliance, or brawn. That uniquely special something is our hearts. I imagine Him like a seamstress, pulling out His measuring tape to measure the depth, width, and length of our inner-being as He prepares us to fulfill the next promise He has for our lives. If we size ourselves up with Him, we might find that our hearts may be a little bloated (for lack of a better term). What must we do? It is essential that we lose a few pounds! We need to let go of deep-rooted issues. We need to pray over and release those matters of the heart, such as pride or other strongholds that have latched on, prohibiting us to enter into the fullness of God's promise.

Sometimes it's imperative we go under the knife! This spiritual surgical procedure is known as circumcision. Scripture states, "...circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit..." (Hebrews 2:29b-c). We can ask God to circumcise our hearts, which involves a sanctification process that removes spots or blemishes and cuts back the dead and unfruitful areas that were once rooted deep within our hearts. In place of it a new root system will have room to grow, grounded in love. Its dimensions are equivalent to the measure of God's love for us. In Ephesians 3:17-19, Paul prays "...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." If we are cognizant of how deep, how long, and how wide Christ's love is for us, it should be with ease that we project the same love unto Him, unto others, as well as unto ourselves. If we allow circumcision (or pruning) to take place within our hearts, we are sure to see results! Scripture states, "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6)

The heart is the gatekeeper of our souls. That is why it is imperative that we examine and cross-examine it with a fine-tooth comb to see what resides within this vital component of our spiritual make-up. Think about it. Before we were born-again as new believers of Christ, we had to accept God into our hearts by confessing that Jesus is Lord. "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). It is through our hearts that our souls are saved. In our infancy in Christ, God checked the preparedness of our hearts to receive the indwelling of His Spirit. Acts 15:8 states, "So God who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit". The heart is the catalyst in the biggest decision you can make in your life--whether or not to believe.


Once we have accepted Jesus into our hearts, we are not automatically transformed, however. We are still a work-in-progress, God's labor of love. We are reminded through scripture that it is the awakening of the heart that propels us to progress in our walk with God. Ephesians 4:17-18 states, "This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart". Some key points I would like to address regarding this scripture are:

1)That we should "no longer walk in the futility of our minds". In doing so, we are met with the challenges of opposing beliefs and teachings. We become like "children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine" (Ephesians 4: 14a). If we become prideful and choose to rely on our own knowledge, we find ourselves "alienated from the life of God", "having our understanding darkened" by confusion.
2) The only way to true enlightenment (or awakening of the mind) is through our hearts, faith unseen. Scripture states that the Gentiles walked in the "blindess of their heart". In other words, they walked by sight and not by faith. If our heart is blind, we are not able to walk in God's love or take His directives. We will never know what true faith means.

As a work-in-progress, how can God use us? The answer to this is simple. God looks at the heart first and foremost. He can work out everything else. The Bible is rich with inspiring stories of how God used the lowliest servant in a mighty way. Esther was an orphaned Jew whom God enthroned, alongside of King Ahasuerus, as his queen, ruling over 177 provinces from India to Ethiopia. Her story is remarkable as it depicts the course of events that took place leading up to and after her strategic positioning in the kingdom. She found the king's favor because she found the favor of the Lord. He exalted her and knew that she would be worthy of the title. Her heart for the Lord is evident when she chose to use her strategic positioning to spare the lives of the Jews. God knew her heart and then placed the call on her life.

When we are first introduced to the virgin Mary, Luke exposes the condition of Mary's heart after being met by the angel Gabriel. Scripture states, "she was troubled at his saying" (Luke 1:29a). What did the angel Gabriel say that troubled Mary? "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" (Luke 1:28a). Wow! What an honor that must have been to hear those words! Why would Mary be "troubled" by this rather than flattered? I believe Mary was troubled because her heart was humbled. She states in Luke 1:48, "For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed." God saw the humbleness of her heart and exalted her in such a way that generations upon generations later still identify her as the "blessed" virgin Mary, mother of Jesus.

As we continue to read further in Luke 1, Mary states, "He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly." (Luke 1:52) Referring back to Ephesians 4, Paul reminds us that the Gentiles are removed from God because of the "blindness" of their hearts. In the same way, the proud are also removed from God by the "imagination" of their hearts. There is nothing that God can use in the heart of a person that believes he can do all things himself. God will put down the proud to make him (or her) see with his (or her) heart that he (or she) is nothing without Him. Adversely, He will exalt the lowly so that He can receive the glory!

If you ever begin to doubt that you are not smart enough, strong enough, or rich enough to work in God's kingdom, guess again! He is hiring and the interview process involves an examination of the heart. The Lord spoke to Samuel when it was time to anoint the new king of Israel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7) In any other circumstance such as this, the young man the Lord was referring to, would have been overlooked. He was tending the sheep and was the youngest of his brothers. However, God knew that David was a man after His own heart. So, "the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward" (1 Samuel 16:13a). David would later be called the greatest king that ever ruled over Israel.

In conclusion, dear readers, let me remind you that our hearts are the gateways to our souls. Let us be mindful of what we allow to enter. Let us also open the eyes of our heart to walk in love and in an attitude of faith. Let us examine our hearts the way that God would, removing anything unfit or unclean in His sight. And as we are of humbled hearts, lowly in His presence, be prepared for exaltation! The Lord is going to use you in a might way! It is all for His glory!