“My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.” Proverbs 4:20-21
Lately, I’ve struggled with keeping my heart in the right place. Every part of life stems from the heart. Thoughts, words, actions, experiences, attitudes, relationships, they all depend on the state of the heart. But we know from scripture and life experience that our hearts aren’t always reliable (Jer. 17:9-10). Our hearts can be easily deceived, confused by emotion and worldly influence. So, can we ever have a heart that feels goodness and craves godliness? Can we have a heart that leads us to do and say the right things? Through the God that is greater than our hearts, we can.
In Proverbs 4:20-21 we see the key to cultivating a heart we can count on. A trustworthy heart is one so full of God’s Word that it yearns for nothing outside of His will and favor.
But how is this feat even possible if we’re broken humans in a broken world? Solomon goes on to explain (through divine inspiration) how to reshape the unreliable human heart in Prov. 4:23-27. He gives us four steps to follow…
1. Change (v.24) – The first step to filling our hearts with God is to make room for Him. We have to purge ourselves of selfish, fleshly desires. The things I love to store in my heart such as pride, jealousy, or self-preservation leave me susceptible to sin and leave no room for God’s guiding Word.
2. Focus (v.25) – To keep your heart in a constant state of godliness, you can’t afford distractions. You can’t dwell on past or present influences in the world. If either have a grip on your heart, then your words and actions will be determined by them. Pay attention to what’s going into your heart. To be filled with God’s word requires dwelling on it.
3. Intention (v.26) – Keeping our hearts pure demands planning. We have to think about the direction our heart has been leading and where we need to be going. As long as His ways consume our desires, our path will be straight. If we fail to ponder the direction our hearts are taking us, we’re driven by shortsighted humanity rather than God’s eternal plan.
4. Consistency (v.27) – Our heart posture, thoughts, and actions all have a cyclical relationship. In other words, one will always affect the other. Hence the importance of never allowing our hearts to swerve away from God’s path. The more we make choices that encourage a God-filled heart, the more godly our hearts become. This leads to positive change in the things we desire, which leads to positive change in our decisions, relationships, and every other area of our lives.
God knows how easily the human heart is deceived. But He also knows our intentions (Jer. 17:9-10). He knows our struggle (Heb. 4:15-16). Furthermore, He gives us everything we need to develop a heart for Him (2 Pet. 1:3-11; 1 John 3:19-21). A heart worth trusting is one filled only with Him.