“Where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.” Matthew 6:21; Luke 12:34
The heart. A simple five letter word. But I bet most of us don’t see our own hearts as quite so simple.
What are the desires of your heart? What is really, truly important to you?
Do you struggle with placing material things, or social position, or even relationships with any other, above God?
Do you have a dream, a deep desire to attain or achieve something? Do you want it so much you feel as if you might burst? Or maybe, you feel as if you can almost taste it.
I have a dream. I have been working on that dream. I have also been bathing it in prayer.
As I was driving this week, I was considering what I dream of doing. I realized something powerful. If my dream is never fulfilled, I’m OK with that.
Why?
I know that I am exactly where God has placed me, doing precisely what He planned for me. (I don’t always execute it perfectly, but I am where He put me!)
My dream is not really about me. Or about my success. My dream is about glorifying God and drawing closer to Him each day.
Recently, I was asked, “Now that you’ve survived cancer what do you want to do with your life?”
The immediate answer in my mind was simple: write. Not writing just for publication sake. Not writing for awards sake. Writing to glorify God. Writing to hopefully encourage others to draw closer to God.
I was then asked, “What’s in it for you?”
A closer relationship with God. and the unsurpassable satisfaction of doing what He’s calling me to do.
Jeremiah 29:11 comes to mind. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
God has plans for each one of us. He created each one with the unique talents and gifts needed to accomplish the individual plans He authored.
Each one of us needs to identify and appreciate those gifts, and then use them for God’s glory, not our own. Each of us needs to step out-of-the-way and allow God to work through us to reach a hurting, lost world.
Simple put: we need to yield our hearts.
Reflections:
Monday: What are your physical treasures? Can you easily acknowledge all material things are from God? How can you use your possessions to glorify Him? How can you ascertain that you are not relying on material possessions in attempt to find wholeness or satisfaction? Read Isaiah 55:2. Only God can fill the gaps! Nothing else. Study Daniel 5:1-4 What happened when King Belshazzar made gods out of material things?
Tuesday: What are your positional treasures? This might be a job title, career accomplishments, your children excelling, anything! Do you allow those things to define you? Can you separate your self-worth from those titles and simple see your value in God’s eyes. He made you. He loves you. Period. Read Psalm 139:13-16
Wednesday: What are your treasured relationships? People to love and love us are a gift from God. Do you thank Him for those relationships? Do you ever value them above Him? Please read Exodus 20:3-4. No human can ever fill our need for God. When we expect someone to “complete” us other than God, we are setting that person up for failure, and ourselves up for deep disappointment.
Thursday: Consider your treasures you have identified the past three days. Do they hold a correct place in your heart? Are any overcrowding God’s place?
When stress hits, do you console yourself with other treasures? Or do you turn to the greatest Comforter, your Creator, God?
We need to seek solace not in His gifts to us, but rather in Him. God’s presence is the peaceful presence our hearts truly desire, all other things are mere substitutes.
Please reread Exodus 20:3-4. We need to refuse to allow any idols in our hearts. Consider any idols you may have. How can you change their status as idol? Pray about it, and implement your plan. Ask a trusted friend to keep you accountable.
Friday: Consider your dreams. Are your dreams about you, or are they about God? Pray about your dreams. Read Proverbs 16:3. Do your part to make those dreams a reality. Trust in God’s timing on the accomplishment of those dreams. Read Psalm 31:14-15
Prayer:
Thank you Lord, for all the treasures you have given me. May You open my eyes to how I can share these gifts from You to bless others. May I appreciate Your gifts, but search still more for You, not Your gifts.
Please help me to keep You as the holder of my heart. Please help me to continuously yield my heart to You. Please help me not to be so consumed with treasures that I miss an opportunity to serve You or draw deeper into relationship with You. (Luke 12:35)
Thank you for reading! Please share your thoughts and insights with us! Please return by Monday, April 22, for the next post.