Trusting heart

5 Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In ALL your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)

My family and I went away camping at Newday festival. During one of the nights I woke up and unable to drift back to sleep I decided to run through my devotion and I stumbled upon this Proverbs.

I have often recited these scriptures as it has been a long time favourite, but these scriptures really came to life for me this particular night. I could not shake this thought of “ALL YOUR HEART”. I found myself asking why the Bible was telling us to trust in the Lord with ALL of our hearts. What is about our heart that is so vital that we are required to lay it all at the altar of the Father? What tendencies have our hearts got that we cannot rely on it, if we do not fully surrender it to the Father?

Science shows us our heart; located at the centre of the body is the most vital organ of the human body as it pumps blood to the rest of the body and so it takes the role of the leader of all the other parts. Likewise, the heart is also known as the seat of emotions and our relationships are built based on the feelings of our heart. We fall in and out of love based on what our heart dictate. The Bible also tells us that out of the issues of our heart the mouth speaks. This tells me that whatever comes out of my mouth is controlled by the state of my heart.

You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Matthew 12:34 (NIV)

The heart also reflects my true nature as a person as the Proverbs says;

As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person.
Proverbs 27:19 (NLT)

It is therefore suffice to say that in all spheres of life; physical, spiritual, emotional, the heart has proven its prime importance in our lives. For these reasons we have a responsibility to take due care of it. God in His wisdom, knowing how significant our heart is, wants us to TRUST Him with ALL of our heart. We know that when you deeply value something, you are careful with how it is used and you take all the precautions to keep it safe.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Luke 12:34 (NKJV)

It is always fascinating to see how cautious and zealous my husband is over his brand new gadgets. He quickly handles any mishap and restores it to its original state. He is so protective that he would not hand it over to just anyone. This same purposeful and intentional care is required of our hearts. I should not allow unhealthy stuff to reside in my heart and neither should I hand over my heart to anyone who comes asking for it. Only God can take care of my heart the way it needs to be taken care of, as He knows the requirements of my heart.

Like me you might be thinking that you have already given your heart to God and so this may not be applicable to you. Sorry to burst your bubble, but this may be useful to you if you will pause for a minute and reflect on the state of your heart in all seasons. We have the tendency to withhold bits of our hearts from God because we like to have just a little bit of control over our lives. We occasionally want to have our way without getting the approval of the Carer.

I am mostly inclined to assume my heart is surrendered when all is going well but there are moments in my life when I take matters into my hands because I did not have the patience or time to wait for the Carer to give me the green light. This happens when I make hasty decisions and if my heart is not fully trusting in God, I am tempted to rely on my own understanding and still pray that God will bless my decisions.

This then brings me to the next part of the verse, that says do not LEAN on your own understanding. In our limited mind we think we know what is good for us but only God has the full picture of whatever situation we find ourselves in and so it is just right to LEAN on Him to guide us instead of on what we find appealing and appropriate.

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

If my heart is not fully surrendered to God I cannot trust what will come out of it. The proverb reminds us that when we actually hand over all of our hearts to God, we can trust whatever comes out of it. If I lean on God I can trust what comes out of my heart because I know His hand is on it. The heart is deceitful and we cannot trust our heart but if we surrender it to God, we can rely on what comes out of it.

“The heart is deceitful above all things and it is extremely sick; who can understand it fully and know its secret motives? “I, the Lord, search and examine the mind, I test the heart, to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.
Jeremiah 17:9 (AMP)

If our hearts are yielded and fully trusting in Him, then whatever we desire will be what He wants for us and so He will not withhold from us but rather as the Psalmist says He will grant our heart’s desires.

Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4 (NKJV)

The final part of the verse tells us to ACKNOWLEDGE Him in all we do. We have a Father who does not want to be left out of our lives but rather, He wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives. He tells us to acknowledge Him so He can direct our path. Like our earthly parents, when we tell Him about the things we want to do He can essentially direct us on what is best for us. We can actually trust His directions because He knows all things.

Just a day after writing out this message I found myself in the trial of my life. Camping proved quite challenging and stressful as I had to balance my serving at meetings and spending time with my family. I struggled to see the light at the end of my tunnel even though God was beckoning me to trust in Him. That was when I finally realised that I can believe that my whole heart is for God but when trials come my way, it is hard to allow God to lead the way. My husband prayed for me to get the heart I was writing about. I stood on God’s words that if I acknowledge Him in everything, He will direct my path and I saw His word come alive for me.

I have come to believe that trusting God with ALL my heart means that even when I cannot see any good thing happening around me, I can TRUST that His hand is working for me. If I trust His hand is working for me, then I can LEAN on Him to direct my steps and ACKNOWLEDGE Him in everything I decide to do in that moment.

God, I invite your searching gaze into my heart. Examine me through and through; find out everything that may be hidden within me. Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares.
Psalm 139:23 (TPT)

I will encourage you to pray this prayer because most of the time we may not even know that our hearts are not fully trusting in God.

May you be filled with the Fullness of God and the Power of His Love!