Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23)
There is something in all of us that wishes us harm. A little voice which urges humanity to set fire to the life we have crafted for ourselves. Maybe it’s the weight of responsibility that eventually becomes too burdensome, or maybe it’s the presence of something darker. Either way, left to ourselves, we are destined to run into the ditch.
Recently I have personally felt this pull toward destruction and have seen it play out with people – good people – in my life. Whether it be a spouse who is tired of a dulled marriage, or a pastor that cannot seem to catch up to other’s expectations, our hearts are all tarnished. In the ambiguous dance between fight or flight, sometimes it is just easier to get gone. We wake in the morning with a quiet groan in our soul; “is this it?” We long for more. More than the 9-5 or the after school activities that rule our lives. We long for a purpose that goes beyond our seven busy days. Within this not so gentle ache however is something beautiful. Scripture paints a picture of a redeemed life. A life with Christ as the captain means that these aches, groans, and flight mechanisms now have a purpose and no longer are we a slave to them. The job we hate, the spouse we are disconnected to, and the rest we fail to catch are all shaded with a glimmer of hope. One word from our Lord brings life into balance. And so we, counter to all logic, hope in our creator. We hope because it is all we have left to do with the broken hearts we carry.
Your heart can be deceptive, but with Christ, it is now rich in grace and abundant in mercy. Trust the Lord of hearts to bring His redemptive healing to your day. You are no longer slaves to schedules, sleep, or broken desires. You are free saint. Act accordingly.
Matt simon blog 