Skip to main content

Undivided hearts

Yesterday, our pastor preached an excellent sermon on 2 Chronicles 14-16. It was about having an undivided heart and finishing as well as you start out. One verse in particular has been running through my mind ever since - 2 Chronicles 16:9: “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” Pastor Kim asked, “What is dividing your heart? Your attention?”

Wow! About a million things.

But seriously, there truly are a myriad of things running through my mind at any given moment. Even as he preached I had to use a great amount of self-control not to dwell on how smoothly the song service had gone, the fact that Aiden was likely driving his teacher crazy somewhere in the church, the possibility of Josh shooting another deer while I was sitting here, the events that I had planned for the week and how great so-and-so’s scarf was. Sad, right? And that’s just the little stuff.

How many hours do I spend worrying? How often do I arrange my schedule to pursue personal happiness? How many times do I try too hard to please people instead of just resting in God’s acceptance? How much time do I spend focused on this fleeting, tangible nothingness instead of on the beauty of my Savior?

Am I willing to be crushed in order to praise him and share in his suffering a tiny bit?
Am I willing to be humbled in order to channel his greatness above my own?
Am I willing to be still so that his Glory will be my overwhelming delight?
Am I willing to be patient so that the kids will begin to learn just how patient and compassionate he is toward them?

What is splitting my focus? What is dividing my heart?
Me.
Like John, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)
How?            
How? How? How?

By the renewing of my mind. By taking those wandering thoughts and egocentric desires captive and making them obedient to Christ. (Don’t you just love the language of the Bible? It’s stunning, really.)

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-6

If you like me, are being challenged to commit your heart and mind to Christ, to take your thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ, to decrease your own desires, image and opinions so that Christ may increase….Don’t be disheartened by the magnitude of this task.

Instead, let this encourage you: “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:6


Comments

Stephanie said…
This was greatly needed for me today. I feel like you speaking directly to me.
November 25, 2013 at 10:06 AM
Stephanie said…
Feels like you were speaking directly to me.
November 25, 2013 at 10:06 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's not all about me.

Have you ever had an idea - a brilliant, creative or thoughtful idea that seemed both perfect and timely? Have you ever told that idea to one other person before you had the chance to act on it and the next thing you know it's in motion, but not in your name? There you stand on the sidelines, watching as everyone celebrates your idea and as that one person you shared it with seems to have forgotten where it originated from. It's pretty miserable. I know. It happens to me often! Have you ever rolled out of bed in the morning with no desire to get your kids up, dressed and fed? Is the last thing that you want to do to wash another sink full of dishes that you didn't dirty or to drop everything to take your son to the toilet for the thirteenth time or to spend hours on another supper that will be gobbled up in minutes or to wrangle (what feels like) a million kids down the aisles of the grocery store? Do you have someone in your life who rubs you the wrong way? Maybe the...
2 comments
Read more

The Unexpected.

  Have you experienced the shock of the unexpected? I have. In a second, in a phone call, and in the short words of a text, my stomach has been a stone within me. That moment when I’ve not known where my toddler is; those shaky words spoken over the miles, “It’s cancer”; that angry red discovered weeks into a pregnancy; that splash in the pool – each one has delivered the sickening feeling of shock. This past weekend we experienced one of these unexpected events which has proven to rattle me more than I would have anticipated. Here I’ve been, skipping along through spring, feeling the weight of fog lifted a little and WHAM! There it is. Right out of nowhere - the unexpected. First came the anger. Like David I find myself pleading, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?”. (Psalm 13) When is enough enough? Have I done something wrong? Have I not been obedient or trusting enough? How much adversity can we bear up under? But God is so good. He’s so kind to me. When I,...
Post a Comment
Read more