“God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.”
(Matthew 5:8 NLT)
John Eldredge lists the biblically-documented potential conditions of our heart: wounded, pierced, grieved, broken, cheerful, glad, joyful, rejoicing, deceived, divided, whole, wise, foolish, steadfast, true, valiant, frightened, cowardly, wandering, dull, proud, hardened. And pure. Purity is something only God can produce in our hearts. We crave Him in our pursuit of purity and we are made pure in His presence. It is in the seeing of God that we are transformed.
Perhaps that’s why the Word encourages us to guard our hearts with great care.
“Keep vigilant watch of your heart; that’s where life starts.”
(Proverbs 4:23 MSG)
God know our hearts are the key to everything else. That’s why He’s hidden it in the center of our being behind a strong ribcage. And He promises to strengthen our heart if we’ll put our hope in Him.
“Be of good courage and He’ll strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” (Psalm 31:24 NKJV)
How is a heart strengthened?
Much like a body; the heart is fortified through rigorous workouts and right diet.
The Lord does His part. He provides the day to day routines that will work our heart to the limits if we’ll commit to stay the course and cooperate with the rigors of His conditioning.
The diet, though, is entirely up to us. We become what we consume. Only the Word of God will give us the necessary fuel for a strong heart. I’ve gone for the lesser things: the hallmark movies and online shopping, the pinterest-binging and carb-heavy snacks. They may feel good for a moment, they initially distract from the discomfort, but they cannot supply the long burn that our hearts require for real strengthening. Only the Word is hardy enough to energize and sustain the rigorous rhythms of heart-strength training.
Lord, we recognize the necessary components for heart-strengthening. Give us the courage to cooperate with Your training. Whet our appetites for Your Word; the only manna that will meet our needs. We submit to Your disciplines as You condition and tone. Amen.