Exposed!

“Whatever is in your heart determines what you say.” Luke 6:45

When I began studying how to have a heart for God this was one of the first verses I came across. As I allowed the words to penetrate within me it was as though the Lord had opened me up, pulled out my heart and placed it on the outside right before me and the world. I saw my heart in a whole new way, a way that brought more brokenness and sadness than joy.

One by one I began to see all the things I had put into it and the effects each of them had on my life, the life of others, and on Christ. The more the Lord revealed, the more I began to understand why my actions and thoughts were the way they were. I even began to realize that I had been trying to just control my tongue instead of truly letting the Lord clean out my heart. I will be honest it took a long time for me to finally understand that until I changed my heart, my actions, thoughts and speech would not change.

It was so easy to read this verse and think about it but to actually do it, to actually let the Lord look within my heart and change it…hard, painful, devastating, embarrassing, and disgusting. But at the same time very rewarding, freeing, humbling, and exciting because I knew and felt my thoughts, actions and speech all begin to change. I also felt a deeper hunger for Christ than I ever have.

After the process of cleaning out my heart the Lord is now testing and purifying my heart to become stronger spiritually, to love deeper, to endure in all circumstances, to be more self-controlled and to have a deeper trust in Him. I am becoming more aware and making better decisions in what I allow to come into my heart. I am putting more of His word in and less of myself and the world. But most of all I am learning to praise God for every trial because from them I know He is refining and purifying my heart to be like His.

Prayer: Lord thank You for bringing me to the point of truly desiring my heart to be changed. May I walk hand and hand with You through every trial as You shape and mold me to be a utensil You can use for Your glory. Amen