The Heart Of The Matter - Praying About What Really Matters
Thursday October 7, 2021
THE HEART OF THE MATTER
Who of us understands why we think and feel and react the way we do? Life seems to be going along just fine and then something “out-of-the-blue” triggers a response in us that sends us running or just starts that dark little thought in the back of our heads that, left undealt with, soon becomes an obsessive stream of thoughts that seems to overpower over our ability to make healthy choices. We say things and do things that are ugly and so far from what we long to do. Ask us to explain why we did it and we often can’t even tell you. Why? Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4:23 We are wonderfully complex people with powerful passions running deep in us. Sorted out by God and shaped for God’s purposes, these are forces for great relationships and much creativity. Interfered with by the wrong choices of ourselves or others and they are as deadly as a river breaking through its banks to flood a neighbourhood, bring great damage and perhaps even loss of life. To live well with God and others in recovery we must bring all of who we are, body, soul, and spirit to God and allow God’s truth to make clear what is going on in us and why and how we need to respond. For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Hebrews 4:12 If we required heart surgery we wouldn’t go down the street to a butcher, no matter how kind and honest he was, and ask him to operate on us. We would search out the most skilled, most highly recommended specialist we could find. Why? He or she will be working on our heart, that vital organ that keeps us alive. Precision and skill are essential. For the very same reason, we need to bring our lives under the care of God, the only skilled specialist in life. By reading God’s word we find out how our fragile hearts need to be repaired. Any ordinary person working on us may be well-intentioned but how they impact us would certainly result in severe damage or even death. The work is just too delicate and our hearts are just too precious. Heavenly Father, You’ve made us so beautifully, spirit, soul, and body. Today, we invite You to diagnose and treat what’s going on in us. We submit to Your wisdom and skill and choose to remain under Your skillful supervision. All the things of our heart, our passions, our desires, our longing for joy and peace, belonging and fulfillment – we offer them to You God. Make of us all that You intended and keep our hearts safe in Your care today, we pray. Amen
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