Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no-one else can share its joy. ~ Proverbs 14:10In these recent days, I have given a lot of thought regarding the beauty, wonder and danger of our heart. Proverbs 4:23 tells us that we are to "Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." From it can come all kinds of things - beauty, wonder, love, creativity (as I sit here at Dunn Brothers typing this, there is a elderly man pouring his heart into a pencil sketch of a young girl [his grand-daughter?] - it is wonderful!), passion, and kindness. However, as I have seen all too frequently from myself and others, out of this same place, "the heart" as proverbs calls it, can come evil beyond belief, unbridled anger, lusts that would make Hugh Hefner blush, and bitterness and unforgiveness that will burn in hole in us and everyone around us if we let it.
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to believe that bitterness and unforgiveness will ruin your social life, and your health. In fact, there is a whole organization called A Campaign for Forgiveness Research committed to the study and promotion of forgiveness for the enhancement of life and well-being here. This secular organization has promoted studies that show, among many other things, that "studies show that letting go of anger and resentment can reduce the severity of heart disease and, in some cases, even prolong the lives of cancer patients."
Why then, do we allow our "secret heart" to turn so black? Why then do we constantly return to the 'vomit' of dark thoughts, bitterness, lust and incredible selfishness? Is there any hope for our darkened hearts?
Yes there is, and it quite simple - Paul states in 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.The answer is to allow the Spirit of God, through the Word of God to TAKE CAPTIVE EVERY THOUGHT and make it OBEDIENT TO CHRIST!! This requires a daily dose of God's word and prayer (a devotional life - what a concept!) that will free us from the bondage of the waywardness of our private hearts. Is there any dark parts of your (and my) heart that needs the light of Jesus to shine on it? Let it go... Let Jesus absolutely transform you... Simply confess it to him, and allow him to change you. Repeat this process as long as it takes to let it go and receive healing. Be diligent about your heart, because it WILL WANDER AWAY if you don't!
"O God of my heart, transform and change my private heart of darkness into a valley of flowering, obedient thoughts to You!"
Trike
2 comments:
Good post, trike. I think another problem with our hearts is that we resist the accountability that comes with doing prayer and Bible reading within community. It can be so easy to rationalize that "my heart isn't really that dark." But if I engage in community in a deep and significant ways, I am inviting others to speak truth into my life about the places where my heart has grown dark. We all want to privitize our hearts--that's the problem. When we open them to other Christians in community we will find that iron will, indeed, sharpen iron.
Bonhoeffer asked a question (loosely paraphrased): "Could it be that our 'confessions' to 'God' are nothing more than confessing to ourselves? If not, why do we find it so much easier to confess to 'God' than our Christian brothers and sisters?"
Community is huge in bringing our hearts from darkness into light.
I was excited to see that this was the verse you chose as it was the one I did as well. However, I could not figure out what it meant, only that it seemed to touch on something significant, and for some reason I should choose it.
The importance of forgiveness and opening your heart to the community and God seem to be huge. I have seen that in my life recently, and can see it in the life of my family members. The forgiveness and openness takes a large burden off my shoulders, and motivates me to continue to express these things.
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