Heart Check

Core Scripture: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

Message: It happened again. God showed up in my quiet time. Not once. Not twice. Three times. So much that I knew I needed to abort my plans to come here and digest what happened.

Are you ready for this?

The YouVersion verse of the day was waiting for me: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23). Powerful thought. Watching the Guided Scripture (see video below) brought even more to light when the speaker told me to write down this note …

I guard my heart by keeping Christ at the center of my thoughts, my choices, and my desires.

I have to say … the thought was good, but I had already moved on to the next phase of my quiet time. I didn’t pause long enough to reflect. That was when I checked a family text from my Dad, sharing that he just read my devotion published in today’s Secret Place.

I had to pause now. ANOTHER scripture about the heart? This one was a verse I had memorized years ago. Considering my heart as of late, it was almost as if I had written the devotion especially for me!

It led me to dive deeper into the thoughts about guarding my heart. What had I been letting in my heart? Was my heart pleasing to God? Most importantly, what was God telling me to do with my heart?

It was time for a heart check. I wanted to journal about it, but instead I opted to finish my previous task of looking up the sermon on the mount in my Bible. I opened it up. My jaw dropped in shock, and I laughed at how amazing our God is in speaking to me through scripture …

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24).

It was right there! Highlighted and almost blinking for me to see! Sometimes it takes three nudges from God to spring me into action. At that point I knew I had to come here. I had to share this story! More importantly, it was time for a heart check.

To be honest, my heart is … divided. There are moments I get it right, but often my heart has been feeling sorry for myself. Definitely toward the negative side. I wonder how much of that has been influenced by the Netflix show I have been binging on lately: Breaking Bad?

Have you ever continued watching a show because the plot is so riveting you just HAVE to see what happens next? Even though there is an icky feeling deep in the pit of your stomach? I am already wrapping up Season 4, and Walter White is deep into lying about his secret life as a cook for an underground meth lab.

I know. Pretty bad, right? Not the best to ingest.

But back to my thoughts about feeling sorry for myself. My heart often wonders if I will ever find a new profession that utilizes the talents that God has given me. I am sick and tired of the night shift and crave something more. It wrecks me, pondering when God will begin to move.

God’s response? He IS moving. It is just not on my timetable. And I am refining my character, learning endurance and patience in the meantime. It is all a matter of perspective.

I have some things I need to work through, but the point is I am here. Writing. Working on my heart. Telling a story that hopefully inspires you to do the same.

Challenge: Do a heart check. Ask God to reveal what is at the core of your innermost being. Journal about or discuss with a friend what He reveals. I am taking this blog to my friend Mark later this morning so we can chat about it.

Video application: Here is the Guided Scripture from Nicole Salmon that I mentioned above. I hope it empowers you!