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The heart of a matter lies in the heart, it has been rightly said! And the scripture exhorts you and me to guard our hearts with all vigilance. For, as it is written, the heart can be deceitful. It needs to be a treasure chest though, a place where the word of God dwells richly, holding within it, His promise to you that declares, The Lord has built up Zion; He has appeared in His glory [Psalm 102:16].
And it is a promise that becomes your practical experience, as you pray to the Promise Keeper, Christ, in whom every promise of God is Yes and Amen. It is in your prayer of faith, in your conversation with Him who is the Architect and Builder of your life, even as can be seen in the life of king David, that an understanding of His divine pattern, His beautiful design for every aspect of your life comes to you as a revelation or revealed truth. And it is then that you can have clarity concerning how He is going to build your life into the pattern that He has already established in the spiritual realm. And also, you can confidently pray when it is the word that He has spoken to you that is the foundation of your prayer that is offered unto God, in wholehearted sincerity. He speaks to you in your heart, or in your spirit.
Your heart condition matters when it comes to God being the Architect and Builder of your life. And in [1 Chronicle 29:18]. The cry of David’s heart in prayer, for him and the people of Israel, was that their hearts may be directed towards the Lord God Almighty and remain fixed upon Him in loyal willingness, to hear from Him and also abide in it. And even in your life and mine, this is a vitally important aspect in walking with Him, for there is always the possibility of hearing from Him and not doing it.
And it is also so true that even an evil man desires true loyalty to be a characteristic of the person who works for him, incongruous though it may seem, and impossible it would certainly be without the righteous God in the picture. Therefore, It is most certainly why, even as David has prayed your heart needs to be directed, established, and settled towards God.
Your heart matters!
More than being a glib cliche, it is the truth of the matter! Out of your heart, your innermost being, flow all the issues of life that you may be currently facing, including all that need a positive change, and it is only God who can accomplish it. And the reason for it comes to you in the words of the prophet, describing the desperate condition of the heart of man, for he is born into this world with a sinful nature, the true condition of which is known only to God. Your heart, in its nature and subsequent behavior, can be full of surprises, surprising even yourself, for sometimes, ‘I cannot believe I said or did such a thing’, could have been your rueful expression of regret! Indeed, as the Lord Himself has spoken, ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings’ [Jeremiah 17:9,10].
He is the God who is love, who loves you with an everlasting love, one that has no beginning or end. Life, from its start to its finish is all about God’s love. But sometimes one can fail to experience this fundamental and beautiful truth of life. For, His love is eternal, and also soft and tender. And the noisy clutter and chaos of the world around you can so very easily drown the divine whispers of love, that can bring a blessed assurance in your heart and soul. It is why David’s petition in his prayer is that the Lord would direct his heart towards Him. For the heart can indeed be very deceitful.
It is what the apostle Paul has addressed in his letter to the Galatians, shocked as he was at how quickly their hearts had turned towards a wrong doctrine of works, and drifting away from the gospel of grace [Galatians 1:6]. A deceitful heart operates in many ways that are not in alignment with the word and will of God.
The shades of deceit :
a. Heart that is overconfident :
It was what happened in the life of Peter, the Lord’s disciple, who was deceived in his heart to declare that he would never desert Him, even if all the other disciples did [Matthew 26:33]. And what happened, of course, was not the case at all. For, he denied Him three times, just as the Lord had prophesied, and in repentance experienced the marvelous grace of God to be reinstated in his relationship of love with Him. It serves as a valuable lesson for every child of God, for the warning is loud and clear in the scriptures, saying, Therefore let the one who thinks he stands watch out that he does not fall. [1 Corinthians 10:12].
It comes with the realization of the truth that you are what you are, as Paul has said, all by the grace of God. It is His grace that sees you alive and standing, when the fallen world around you, even as it is now, is riddled with conflicts, and enemies could rise up, who would swallow you alive.
And it is why not neglecting the gathering of saints becomes vitally important, in the life of a person, who may be in danger of falling, at that point of his life. For, turning away from God, to fall into the fleeting pleasures of sin can happen so very quickly and unexpectedly. A designer wedding does not always guarantee an enduring marriage that stands strong in the Lord, weathering the stormy temptations of life!
b. Heart that is scheming :
The deceitful heart can scheme and plot to justify or satisfy one’s carnal desires that go against the word of God. And even a man who at other times had an intimate fellowship with God was not immune to it. But it also offers hope to the heart that has succumbed to sin’s temptation in some way or the other. The psalmist in the fifty-first psalm has shown the way out of it in repentance and faith. Christianity is not about trying but trusting is the truth that it reveals. And, as the God who alone knows your innermost being renews your mind with the truth of His word, instead of trying in your own strength, you can trust in His strength that is made perfect in your weakness. All it requires is that you lean on Him, His understanding, and His mercies that are new every morning.
c. Heart that goes astray :
It was the observation of God Himself, the Great I AM, who led the people of Israel for forty years in the wilderness, to declare at the end of it all, the sad reason why they would not be entering His rest, ‘For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways’ [Psalm 95:10]. A heart that is deceitful, can so easily lead you to reject the ways of God, to compromise with what is ungodly, to satisfy the egoistic self in you, by trying to do things leaning on your own understanding.
It is the reason why the prayer of David speaks so relevantly and powerfully even today, so that your heart may be directed towards Him, to know His thoughts and His ways that are higher, and is His good and perfect will for your life. And when you ask according to His will, you can rest in the assurance that your prayer has been heard by God, to also have the guarantee that you have the petition that you have asked of Him [1 John 5:14,15].
d. Heart that is divided :
But it is when the answer from God is delayed, that deception of the heart that causes it to be divided can trouble you, for, at its root, deception is of the devil, who is the ultimate deceiver. And the double-minded person is unstable in all his ways, and cannot receive anything from the Lord. It emphasizes the need for your prayer unto God being that He would direct your heart towards Him so that it would be undivided. For, it is when your heart is united, that you receive from Him what you have asked.
The Lord has accomplished on the Cross all that you will ever need in your life. And, ask and you shall receive, is His word of promise. Therefore, on asking, all you need to do is to wait until you receive from Him. The next move is His, but it requires from you an undivided heart, united and directed towards Him. Even as Elijah counseled the people of Israel, there can be no wavering between two opinions. The promise of God that comes to you, is never an option, but the ultimate. It is why there can be no plan B in the back of your mind, but your heart needs to be firmly directed towards God, so that you can as David had, have clarity and confidence in progressing in the paths of righteousness that He has already prepared for you.
e. Heart of unbelief :
Faith comes by hearing God’s word concerning your situation, and it can remain unwavering as you keep hearing His word, as your heart is directed towards Him. But unbelief can replace faith when you are not hearing God’s word, or you merely listen to it without receiving it in your heart. It is what can leave you disturbed and restless, instead of experiencing the peace and rest of God that is independent of your circumstance. And the writer to the Hebrews warns against it to say, Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God [Hebrews 3:12].
f. And, a heart that is encouraged!
The need to encourage one another in the church, as a family, in the gathering of saints that one must take care not to neglect, is the truth that is revealed in the same epistle, And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching [Hebrews 10:24,25]. For sin is deceitful, and your heart can be deceitful. And when they join together there can only be destruction, and it is certainly not the Builder’s design for your life.
Your heart matters!
And it is why it needs to be directed towards the Lord, the God of Israel who neither slumbers nor sleeps. His eye is upon you, to watch over you and counsel you, for the enemy comes only to steal, kill or destroy. Giving thanks unto the Father, therefore, may your heart’s response be one of willing submission, in loving surrender, to be established and fixed in His ways. And as you give Him your heart, to live for Him alone, may He have His way in you, to be the Architect and Builder of your life, demonstrating His glory and His wondrous power.
In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
