{"id":3761,"date":"2018-05-29T08:30:52","date_gmt":"2018-05-29T12:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/?p=3761"},"modified":"2018-05-22T16:08:27","modified_gmt":"2018-05-22T20:08:27","slug":"what-do-i-do-with-my-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2018\/05\/29\/what-do-i-do-with-my-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"What Do I Do with My Heart? Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Does your heart ever feel all over the place? I know mine does, and many times women I have counseled at VOH have been in a similar spot. Sometimes we feel confused with what we are supposed to do or how we are supposed to respond to the pull and leading of our hearts. Previously<\/a> I discussed how God views our hearts as more than just the center of love or emotions, but rather refers to our heart as our inner man or our control center. In another blog<\/a>, I also examined passages of Scripture that speak on how God views our hearts apart from Christ as wicked, sick, deceitful and hard as stone. In this post, I want us to consider what the Lord instructs us to do with our new hearts we receive through Christ.<\/p>\n

Your Heart Should Love God<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of the more famous passages on the heart comes from Deuteronomy 6:5, \u201cYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your migh<\/strong>t.\u201d We are supposed to love God with our entire being, with everything He has given to us, including the control center of our thoughts, desires and emotions-our hearts. Everything about us, internally and externally, is to love God. This is quite the tall order, and obviously not one we could ever accomplish with our spiritually dead heart of stone. However, when we are saved through Christ we receive our new heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). God commands us to love Him, and then through regenerating our hearts and pouring His Holy Spirit into us, He enables us to be able to love Him (1 John 4:19). When I don\u2019t know what to do with my heart, I can start by seeking to love God fully. One way I can do this is by asking Him to incline my heart towards Him. Even with a new heart, I still have to battle my flesh, which will never lead me to love God. Therefore, I need the help of His Holy Spirit to cause me to love God absolutely.<\/p>\n

Your Heart Should Search After God<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Part of loving God includes drawing close to Him. Deuteronomy 4:29<\/a> says, \u201cBut from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.\u201d <\/strong>Out of love for God, I am to apply my whole heart-my thoughts, will, emotions, etc.-to searching after the Lord.\u00a0 While this is a reminder for us to seek after God, it is also a precious promise from the Lord! When we set our hearts on searching after Him, we will find Him! He does not hide himself or stand far off, but in His goodness, He reveals Himself to us!<\/p>\n

Psalm 27:4 shows how David grasped this concept of searching after God with all his heart.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>One thing have I asked of the <\/strong>Lord<\/strong>,<\/strong>
\nthat will I seek after:
\nthat I may dwell in the house of the Lord
\nall the days of my life,
\nto gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
\nand to inquire in his temple.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

David realized the most important thing he could seek after was the Lord. He asked the Lord to let him dwell with Him forever and to enjoy His presence. Later in the same psalm, in verse 8, David writes,<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have said, \u2018Seek my face.\u2019<\/strong>
\nMy heart says to you,
\n\u201cYour face, Lord, do I seek<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

David realized the exceeding value of seeking after the Lord, and he set his prayers and his heart on doing so. In verse 4 he says this is the one thing he is praying about and seeking after. We should follow David\u2019s example. Are your prayers consumed with asking the Lord to help you search after and enjoy His presence all your life? Does your heart respond \u201cof course, Lord!\u201d to God\u2019s call for you to seek after Him with all your heart? Do you rejoice in the assurance that as you search after God, you will find Him? Do you dedicate time to intentional prayer and Bible study, knowing these are ways to seek after the Lord?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>In a later post, I want to consider a few more passages from Deuteronomy on this topic of our heart. For now, what other Scriptures come to mind for you as you think about what we are to do with our heart?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Does your heart ever feel all over the place? I know mine does, and many times women I have counseled at VOH have been in a similar spot. Sometimes we feel confused with what we are supposed to do or how we are supposed to respond to the pull and leading of our hearts. Previously… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":3760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[22038,63],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Do I Do with My Heart? 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