I was leading a prayer meeting when the
Lord spoke this to His people, “Turn
your heart to Me! Turn your heart to Me, you will feel what I feel. Turn your
heart to Me, you will think what I think. Turn your heart to Me, you will see
what I see. Turn your heart to Me!”
You see, even back in the days of Jeremiah,
God had expressed His heart desire for a people who would have heart to
heart relationship with Him. God willed to forgive their transgressions so
that their sins would not be the hindrance to their relationship with Him. In
the book of Hebrews chapter 8, Jeremiah 31:33-34 were quoted and it was
concluded that the Old Covenant of Law through Moses had been substituted by
the New Covenant of Grace through Christ’s finished work on the cross (see also
Hebrews 9:15). But does this Covenant of Grace or so called ‘grace teaching’
sideline holiness and give believers the excuse to fall into sins easily?
The answer is definitely ‘No!’ As it is
written in Proverbs 27:19, “As in water face reflects face, so a man’s heart
reveals the man”, your heart reveals who you really are. Hence, certainly, when
the all-knowing God relates to His beloved people, He looks past their outward
appearances, and looks deep into their hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7). Reason
being God doesn’t want just outward obedience from His beloved people, but He
is attracted to hearts that are always drawn to Him and locked with His.
The meaning of ‘heart’ in Hebrew is ‘lêb’
which comprises your feelings, will and intellect. It is the center of
anything that you care for. Just as it involves your heart in any relationship,
the relationship is broken if you ‘lose’ your heart for the person you have a
relationship with. Thus, your heart has the most important role in your
relationship with God.
Also, God has made your heart to be the
very key to His salvation and blessings. You have been taught that Jesus
is the door to God and His blessings/providence (see John 10:9; 14:6), but
it takes your heart to open that door! It
is written in Romans 10:9-10, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord
Jesus and believe in your heart that
God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.”
For you to accept Christ as Savior, your heart has to first believe (have
faith) in God. By the way, the word ‘salvation’ is ‘sōtēria’ in Greek, which
also carries the meaning ‘rescue, safety, deliverance, and health’. Therefore,
salvation is not just applied to the moment you said Salvation Prayer. In
Christ, you are meant to receive salvation/rescue/safety/deliverance/health/providence
throughout your walk with God all the days of your life on earth. Therefore, the
more you involve your heart in your walk/relationship with God, the more your
faith will grow, and the more blessings you will experience in life. This
is also the very reason the devil would try his best to distract your heart
from the Lord with all kinds of temptations, fears, anxieties and so on.
You may ask, “But how do I prevent my heart from being distracted?” You do it by
keeping your heart fit spiritually! Just as you keep your heart fit physically
by eating healthy food, doing physical exercise and having enough rest, you
keep your heart fit spiritually by ‘eating’ the unadulterated Word of God
(meditate on God’s words), ‘exercising’ your spirit-man (pray in tongues),
and having spiritual rest (talk to God & worship Him). It is basically keeping your heart close to
God’s heart.
When your heart is close to God’s heart,
you will:
Feel
what God feels
You know what matters to God. You want to
do things that will please His heart. You love His affirmation more than
praises from others. You will not do things that hurt God’s heart because you
know how He feels about it and you care for His feelings more than anything
else. And that indirectly prevents you from sinning. (See 1 John 3:22-23; 4:8)
Think
what God thinks
You are convinced that God has all the
wisdom and solutions you need. You are not easily swayed by any suggestions or
carnal ways of the world. You will confide your challenges to Him first before
telling others. You stand firm on God’s instructions and guidance even if
others judge you as stubborn and arrogant. You know the results and outcome
will always prove that God’s ways are the best! (See Isaiah 55:8-9; 1
Corinthians 2:16)
See
what God sees
You know God sees you as righteous, pure
and lovely. You understand your position and authority in Christ. You will
neither get panic nor fall into anxiety easily because you know God is
in-charge despite how chaotic the situation around you seems to be. You align
your spiritual eyesight with God’s by seeking His knowledge and understanding.
You choose to come above and not fall under wrong influence or atmosphere. You
choose to only speak and declare words that will change the circumstances
around you. (See Ephesians 2:4-10; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6)
Dear friends, you might have heard the
saying that a Christian’s walk with God is never a religion but a relationship,
or you might have preached about it with conviction. It is true indeed. It is a
relationship with openness and transparency. It is a heart to heart
relationship. Your heart is where you allow God to correct and change you
from within. It is where you allow Him to lead and guide you to be who He wants
you to be. It is where you learn to feel, think and see like He does (see John
5:19). It is also where you receive and reciprocate His love for you (see 1
John 4:19). And this is what religions, rules and regulations cannot do for
you. Whether you have your vocation in the secular world or you are in
spiritual ministry, allow God to guard your
heart against the distractions of the world by drawing close to God today,
every day. Walk with God with your heart, and your Christian walk will be
with no pressure but full of pleasure. Amen.