Preparations of the Heart
“The preparations of the heart in man, and
the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.”
the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.”
While some shopping has been done, and my office floor is disappearing with bibles and other supplies for the Philippines, last minute preparations will begin in earnest as soon as service is finished later this morning. Stops at the Christian bookstore, Kroger and Target are already on the list. The scale will be needed to attempt to get under the 50 lb limit per suitcase. And “making a list, checking it twice” will take on a whole new meaning so that nothing is forgotten, not clothing or a toothbrush, not Bible notes or our passports, and certainly not the cookies that are essential for late night studying.
But the Lord spoke to me this week from the King James Version of Proverbs 16:1 about the most important preparations needed in each of our lives, and those are “the preparations of the heart”. If we are hoping to be used by God to touch other lives and to fulfill the things He has called us to, then nothing compares to having hearts that have been prepared under the watchful eye of the Lord. We are to serve the Lord with humble hearts that realize “there go I except for the grace of God” and with tender hearts filled with compassion for the hurting and needy. Pride has to be worked out of our hearts so that we are brought to the place where God gets all the glory, for anything and for everything that is accomplished in us and through us.
The refiner sits and watches carefully as the fire causes the impurities to come out of the silver and gold and rise to the surface. We too have a Refiner and He too is watching carefully as we go through the fires that reveal areas in our hearts to be cleansed and purified. The Lord’s goal is to be able to say, at progressive stages of our lives, that we are ready for the plans and purposes He has for us. Our job is to acknowledge the process and yield to the preparations so necessary in each of us.
Coming into God’s presence is never one-dimensional; we have so much to thank Him for and so much that we still are hoping to see Him do in our lives. But there is the God side about being drawn into His presence, what He wants to do in each of our hearts. God doesn’t just go through the motions; He has a plan and He is purposefully at work in your life to accomplish his good purpose. He is preparing your heart because He has so much more ahead for you, a future that is making you ready for even today.
God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church
No comments:
Post a Comment