Key To Your Heart?

Monday, February 20, 2017

Verse for the Week: Matthew 6:21 (NIV); “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

With so many things competing for our time, resources and our attention, what holds the key to your heart?

Just this week the world lost a precious woman of God. A mighty warrior and mentor to so many. She wasn’t a part of the MomsHope community, but she was a huge part of the faith community. Her kindness and compassion led me through some dark valleys after my husband passed away and I remember her with precious gratitude.

This challenges me to assess my life as it is flying by at Mach speed. I can’t stop time but I can make the most of what I have been given and that requires an exploration into the affairs of my heart. Are you with me?

Matthew 6:21 tells us that whatever we devote our hearts to (set our attention and devotion upon) is ultimately what we treasure.

I don’t know about you, but that thought arrests me and makes me take a step back. It prompts me to question where I’m spending my money? Who am I spending my time trying to impress? What thoughts take up the most airtime in my brain? And what am I doing and saying out of this treasure trove inside my heart?

Tough questions for sure. And probably tougher answers are coming to light if we are being honest with ourselves.

If you have accepted this challenge as I have, you might find that after identifying some of the specifics of how you are spending your time, resources, and your energy, the intentions of your heart are focused inwardly—on self-image and self-gratification.

God calls us to a higher plane of purpose. One in which our treasure is found in Him and not just our instinctual desires.

I find it’s a good rule of thumb to work your way back from here—this place of self—in order to assess the actual intentions of the heart.

For example, you could be avoiding confrontation in order to maintain comfort instead of speaking the truth in love. Or perhaps seeking pleasure at all costs in lieu of denying certain desires for the sake of obedience. How about attainment of status or things without the finances to back it up? Or maybe it’s a struggle with your children and sometimes it’s just easier to ignore the problem versus facing it head-on?

Ask yourself—why? Why am I driven in this area? What is it that I really want? What do I stand to gain by acquiring a specific something, or accomplishing a specific goal? Or maybe it’s a relationship that needs a dose of divine reality.

For some of us, it will be a deep-dive into some painful realities of how we were brought up and what was important to those who reared us.

For others, this might be a more shallow dive into our more recent circumstances—good or bad—that influence how we see life and what we are driven to prove or acquire or accomplish.

Take a few thoughtful moments to roll that over in your mind. Let your heart reveal the honest truths through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Why do we want to do this? Especially if it is uncomfortable and maybe even a little painful? Because it is God’s way of realigning us, our hearts and our focus on what’s important and what will last.

Wherever you find yourself on this journey of the heart, practice compassion with yourself and seek God’s direction. Our human insight will only carry us so far. The key to finding true and lasting treasure is found where our humanness intersects with our faith.

This point of collision takes us beyond our capacities that stagnate in selfishness, jealousy, and insecurity and into the realm of quiet confidence in our creator. It’s not who we are. It’s who He is.

He is our hope.

He is our peace that surpasses understanding.

He is our treasure.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for the opportunity to hear your voice. Tell me what I need to know in order to realign my heart to be focused on you and your will for my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Reflect and Respond:

Share one way you will realign your heart toward God this week. Hugs for a great week and remember, you are not alone. Be blessed and be intentional with your heart.

Dori