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How’s your heart today?
Hearts can flutter with excitement, break with sorrow, grow anxious in trials, or become bitter through disappointment. A selfish heart becomes stingy and cold, while a joyful heart overflows with thanksgiving. Scripture teaches us that the spiritual condition of my heart literally determines the direction of my life.
That is why the condition of your heart is the most important issue in your Christian life. If the heart drifts from God, the rest of life soon follows. You can count on it. Disguised for a while, it may be, but sooner than one thinks, the exposure happens.
Solomon wrote:
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23
The Apostle Paul gives us several revealing glimpses into a heart that was deeply in tune with the Lord.
Just as musicians tune instruments to a perfect reference pitch, believers must continually tune their hearts to Jesus Christ. In music, the International Reference Pitch is A440. Guitars, pianos, violins, and other instruments around the world are tuned to that standard. If you will allow the analogy — in the Christian life, Christ Himself is the perfect standard by which our hearts must continually be tuned.
As we look at Paul’s heart, we are really seeing something of the heart of Christ being reproduced in one of His servants.
As you consider these snapshots from Paul’s life, ask yourself honestly: How is my heart?
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A Burdened Heart
In Romans, Paul describes his deep longing to see his fellow Jews saved. He speaks of “great sorrow and continual grief” in his heart because so many were rejecting Christ.
I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart…Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation. Romans 9:2, 10:1
His greatest concern was not comfort, success, or reputation — it was the salvation of souls. Like the Lord Jesus who wept over Jerusalem, Paul’s heart was moved by the spiritual condition and eternal destination of people around him.
Every believer whose heart is in tune with the Lord will carry some burden for those who are perishing without Christ.
Does that describe your heart? For whom did you pray today — beyond your immediate family?
We can become so preoccupied with earthly concerns that eternal realities barely move us anymore. It is possible to become so world-bound that the burden for lost souls grows faint and distant.
Who are you genuinely burdened for today?
A Broken Heart
In Acts 21, Paul spoke of fellow believers “breaking” his heart as they pleaded with him not to go to Jerusalem. They feared for his safety and begged him to avoid the suffering that awaited him there.
But Paul knew the Lord was leading him. Paul was not insensitive to the genuine love and care the Christians had for him.
Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Acts 21:13
His heart was breaking, not because he doubted the will of God, but because obedience to Christ sometimes carries deep emotional pain. He loved these believers dearly, and it pained his heart to see them so distraught, yet he was willing to endure misunderstanding, sorrow, imprisonment, and even death in order to obey the Lord.
Paul had a broken heart.
The right decision is often the hardest one. Sometimes saying “yes” to Christ means saying “no” to comfort, security, or even the most strongly expressed wishes of people we deeply love.
The Lord Jesus Himself was “a man of sorrows” who steadfastly set His face toward the Cross. A heart in tune with God is not always a carefree heart. Often, it is a surrendered heart amidst tears.
A Big Heart
As you read the epistles of Paul, you cannot help but notice the size of his heart. To say he had a big heart would be an understatement.
Writing to the believers in Philippi, he said:
“I have you in my heart.” Philippians 1:7
He prayed for them, loved them, and cared deeply for them. Though Paul was a Jew and many of these believers were Gentiles, the barriers that normally divide people had been broken down through Christ.
Then he said in the next verse: God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:8 NLT) Christ’s love flowed through Paul to other believers.
And, it wasn’t just the believers in Philippi! The number of Christians in multiple locations he carried in his heart is evident by his many prayers frequently mentioned throughout his other epistles.
How large is your heart — how large is mine toward the people of God?
Does your world revolve mostly around yourself and your immediate circle, or has God enlarged your heart to love all His people?
One heart condition never gained a foothold in Paul’s life — bitterness. A bitter heart poisons spiritual life, damages relationships, and clouds fellowship with Christ. Left untreated, bitterness spreads quickly.
Guard Your Heart
Before you concern yourself with your circumstances today, examine your heart.
Is it burdened for the lost?
Yielded in obedience?
Enlarged in love?
Guarded from bitterness?
The heart that is truly in tune with the Lord will increasingly reflect the heart of Christ Himself.
But we all… are changed into the same image from glory to glory.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
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