They say the eyes are the window to the soul. Is your soul well? How have you taken care of it? So above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are. Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life. - Proverbs 4:23 During this time of "reset" I believe we have an opportunity to reset our hearts. Our hearts are very important to God. Your heart matters to Him. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5: 8 The Holy Spirit has been highlighting this scripture to me over this past week or two. Being the very literal-minded person I am, I always saw this as someday seeing God face to face if we keep our hearts pure. While of course, we will see Him face to face, I have come to experience this scripture in a different way, which I will soon explain.
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that we are in very challenging and difficult times. There is no one who is not affected whether by Covid-19, the political upheaval that's in our nation, by the loss of loved ones, some have lost jobs, businesses have closed, and the disunity that is so apparent in the Body of Christ. Everything that can be shaken is being shaken. We could lose our minds and have a mental breakdown if we were to focus on all the negatives that we see. Let me ask the question again: Is your soul well?
Through it all, our hearts are being tested. They say it's during trials that we see what we are truly made of. When we go through trauma or tragedy, what is in our hearts comes to the surface. When we go through the difficulties of life, we must be diligent and intentional about the care of our heart. Actually, we would do well to care for the condition of our hearts before tragedy hits. We must not allow our hearts to become bitter, no matter how difficult or hurtful the situation is. In the middle of 2020, my entire world changed in a single day. My soul was greatly affected. My heart was broken. Psalm 4:18 says The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. I love how it is worded in the Message translation: If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath. That is just how I felt, kicked right in the gut. Yet, in the midst of the pain, in the midst of betrayal, in the midst of feeling violated, vulnerable, ashamed, and overwhelmed, I could feel God! I could feel His presence in me and over me. I could feel Him strengthening me! Even in the numbness and shock, I could feel the Lord was right there with me in the midst of the situation and in the midst of the circumstances. I never once felt alone. I never once felt abandoned. Even in the midst of turmoil, I felt His presence and His peace.
Did I always handle the situation that I had suddenly found myself in perfectly? No, although I did try to handle things in the right way as much as I could. There were a couple of times my emotions got the better of me and I could have been wiser. We aren't responsible for what is in someone else's heart but we are responsible for what is in our own hearts. In the midst of my imperfection, I did, however, allow Him to perfect me. We are all still in that process. As tempting as it was to ask all the "whys" regarding the heart of another, I had to be intentional about tending to my own heart. As the weeks and months passed there was one thing I prayed continually and I still pray today: "Search my heart, God, see if there be any offensive way in me. Remove from my heart and life every impure & unclean thing from the contamination of the past season. As I step into the new season ahead of me, create in me a pure heart." At times it was only by grace that I was able to move forward, but because I longed for my heart to be pure, I was able to see God and feel Him right there with me. He never leaves us. He never forsakes us.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. That word see in Matthew 5:8 doesn't just mean to look upon or observe but in the Greek translation, it means to gaze with wide-open eyes as at something remarkable! Remarkable refers to something worthy of being noticed, especially as being uncommon or extraordinary. If you are pure in heart, You won't just observe God from a distance. No matter what is going on in the natural realm around you, no matter what is happening to you, right in the midst of the chaos, the pure in heart will see God. If you are pure in heart, then you will come out of your situation lacking nothing. You will come out of it with something remarkable! You will come out with something uncommon and extraordinary! In the midst of your circumstances, you have to make up your mind that something good is going to come of this. Make the determination, "I am not going to go through all this pain for nothing No way! I am going to guard my heart. I am going to keep it in check. I am not going to be attached to any unclean thing! I am going to be diligent and intentional to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. I will be pure in heart and I will not only see God, but I will gaze upon Him with wide-eyed wonder!!" - Learning to Live Authentically!
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