While a part of this world is in great suffering these days, we still receive grace to continue with our normal lives in safety. We can be grateful for so much, even while praying for those who suffer great loss; that the Lord will comfort those who cry out to Him and give them strength. We all know that we live in the end times. May the Lord find us awake and ready – not like the five unwise virgins!
I do not come with an extraordinary message, because God’s Word is already written in our hearts and minds, and we all have the Holy Spirit, so let us just read Scripture to refresh our memories and devout our hearts afresh to Him.
Psalm 42: 1-2 “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”
I sometimes experience a dry heart and then I must ask my Lord to create in me this kind of thirst after Him. I do not want to miss one hour of His presence.
Years ago, I had a very deep longing for the Lord, and I asked Him to reveal Himself to me in a special way. His reply clearly came to my mind: “You will find Me in My Word.” His Word is He Himself. He is the Word. His Word is God’s gift to us. We should devour it and allow it to change our hearts.
One of the most important biblical topics is the heart. Throughout the Bible, God shows us that He is not nearly as interested in our money, time, or service as much as He desires our hearts. Why is this important? Because the heart is the centre of our lives. Prov. 4:23 commands: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” Our emotions and our desires flow from the condition of our heart. If God gets access to our hearts, then the rest of our lives follow – our words, our attitudes, our behaviour, etc.
Proverbs 23:26 invites us – ”My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways” It is an invitation, but I’d rather call it a command for total devotion, asking for our affections and obedience to God’s ways.
In Matthew 6:21, Jesus says that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. The things that we treasure in our life reveal where our hearts truly are. The things that we think about, spend our money on, and use our energy to attain—that is where our hearts are.
We need to train our hearts to dwell on Jesus. The apostle Paul encourages us to dwell on the things that are of God: ”Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Phil 4:8
Think how much less tension and stress will be upon us when we practice this! This type of thinking moves our hearts to cherish Jesus as our treasure above everything else on earth. It works peace and rest.
If you’re honest with yourself, where would you say your treasure is currently? Consider how those things reveal where your heart truly is. We must be in the business of self-searching to see where we stand with the Son of God. Is He really everything to us?
May Psalm 18:1-2 be our portion: “I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” V28 continues – “For it is You who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness.”
Let us train our hearts to dwell on Jesus continually.
Oh Lord Jesus, help us to live daily what we say we believe. Thank You for giving Your life to set us free from our sin. Thank you for clothing us in Your garment of righteousness and for making us worthy to stand before the Father. Amen
Andra Botha