“That first tent symbolizes the present time, when gifts and sacrifices can be offered; but it can’t change the heart and conscience of the worshiper.” Hebrews 9:9 The Voice
The heart,
infinitely precious to God, can be so easily corrupted. Jeremiah says,
“The heart
is deceitful above all things,
and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick!
Who can know it [perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind]?” Jeremiah 17:9 Amplified.
Why we do what we do only God knows.
But if we ask He wills show us and the answer is not usually pretty. When I
battle bad attitudes, yield to the same sins, or find myself absorbed with my
own problems, no matter the symptom I can trace the source back to a problem
with my heart. And that is what God always deals with.
God in His infinite wisdom moves past
our symptoms and outward expressions of sin (the act) and goes straight to the
heart condition that is causing the manifestation of sin in our lives. Which, I
have discovered, is why being sorry for your sin isn’t nearly enough. For example, if a married man commits
adultery and then is filled with regret and professes that regret, the mere
profession isn’t enough to restore him to his past relationship with his wife,
because unless the heart problem that caused the manifestation of sin in the
first place is dealt with, then the symptoms will just resurface again and
again, as sorry and truly grieved as he may be.
No, what this man needs is an evaluation by The Heart Doctor. What he
needs is go before the throne of grace and implore the Holy Spirit to search
his heart, to reveal the problem, to heal him of this condition.
Many don’t. Many people walk around
with sick hearts because they don’t like the taste of the medicine. It’s rarely
easy and most often painful. Dressing a wound usually does cause pain. So many
times it’s the idols in our lives that make us sick, our self-love, our little
fleshy indulgences, and those things the flesh fights giving up. Hebrews 12:11 put it this way:
“When punishment is
happening, it never seems pleasant, only painful. Later, though, it yields the
peaceful fruit called righteousness to everyone who has been trained by it. So lift up your hands that are dangling
and brace your weakened knees. Make straight paths for your feet so that what
is lame in you won’t be put out of joint, but will heal.”
“So what is
lame in you won’t be put out of joint, but will heal.” Daily I find I must go to the Heart Doctor. I
must spend time asking Him to search my heart, daily I must wait before Him as
He reveals to me the things that could make me sick. It hurts as I yield to God
and submit to His will in matters where my flesh wants its way, but I keep
focused on the prize; deeper intimacy with God and “the peaceful fruit of
righteousness”. It will mean changing
the way you think about things and people, humbling yourself when you want to
be exalted, forgiving when you want to punish, letting go of relationships that
are toxic or unhealthy, giving instead of receiving, and so much more.. but oh
the peaceful fruit of righteousness! What can compare to it?
“But the fruit of
the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love,
joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness,
goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, gentleness (meekness, humility),
self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law
[that can bring a charge]. And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah)
have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and
appetites and desires. If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk
by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go
forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]” Galatians
5:22-25 Amplified
This is my
challenge:
“Let us go
forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.”
And this: “So lift up your hands that are dangling and
brace your weakened knees. Make straight paths for your feet so that what is
lame in you won’t be put out of joint, but will heal.”
And a crucial part of that is daily
visits with The Heart Doctor as He is the only One who truly knows my heart.
