How’s Your Heart?

by Jean Martz

When the Scriptures speak of the heart, they could be speaking of the fountain of life, the seat of affections and feelings, the mind, intensions, understanding, knowledge, insight, courage or spirit. So, when the word heart is used, it will provide an interesting study in light of the lengthy definition.

First of all, I Samuel 16:7 reminds us, “the Lord looketh on the heart.” The Lord “looks”—He beholds, sees with attention, observation, with hope and expectation and compassion. What is He seeing in our affections and feelings, in our mind, intentions and understanding and in our spirit? Remember, He is omniscient—all-knowing!

There is no doubt about it, when the Lord first looked on our hearts, He observed a sinful heart, a deceitful heart (Jer. 17:9). But Jeremiah (29:13) speaks of the searching heart under conviction of sin finding cleansing for that sinful heart. Romans 10:9,10 says that if we believe in our hearts that God has raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved, for it is with the heart that we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.

After we have accepted this cleansed heart, the next step is to have a set purpose of heart (Daniel 1:8). Some of the purposes could be to have a:

• Rejoicing heart — by studying God's Word (Jer. 15:16)
• Serving heart — by serving Him with all our heart (Deut. 11:13)
• Continually cleansed heart — by memorizing God's Word
  (Ps. 119:11)
• Peaceful heart — by faithfulness in prayer (Phil. 4:6,7)
• Singing heart — by allowing the Spirit of God to control our lives (Eph. 5:18,19)

To have these purposes working constantly in our lives, the prayer of the Psalmist could produce a very healthy heart: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23,24.

In Him,
Jean Martz