Christian Living

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The Heart of the Matter


As I was waiting on God, I sensed the Holy Spirit was leading me to the book of Psalms. While reading there, one particular verse seemed to be highlighted by the Holy Spirit. It was Psalms 27:14, Wait on the Lord, Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord...:

I didn't think I should stop at just this verse, so I kept searching, all the while being sensitive to the Holy Spirit. I really didn't know what I was searching for, but when I got to the book of Proverbs my eyes seemed to come to a rest at Prov. 5:21. I sensed this would go along with the one in Psalms. Prov. 5:21 reads, For the ways of man/woman are before the eyes of the Lord and He ponders ALL his paths.

I was really drawn to the word "ponders." In the dictionary this means to think deeply or consider carefully. Far too often, circumstances don't move quick enough for us. We all have dreams and desires. We want to make plans to carry them out as soon as possible. For us, it's just a small matter of getting together the funds, find the location and stake the claim.

I've learned a very important lesson in my life. When I've committed my way and life over to God, sometimes my plans don't pan out the way I think they should. Sometimes I've not been able to get an answer right away, though, as to why that is. God is very good about teaching us to really, depend on Him. He doesn't let us slide past Him in our efforts to follow His will. He will, however, let us make mistakes along the way to teach us about other important things in life, if necessary.

I was talking with someone, recently, about not missing God's will. This individual's dad is up there in years, and just had a time of, very low, blood pressure. It looked like he was not long for this world. God didn't let the son have peace, though, about just letting him go. He made sure the nursing home was going to get an ambulance, and take him to the hospital to be checked out. The rest of his family had figured he was gone already. They just lost their mom two weeks before and thought dad was going to follow soon.

This individual told me that after he made the decision to call for an ambulance, he immediately had peace. He felt as though he'd done all he was supposed to do. It turned out to be the right decision. His dad was dehydrated, and the nursing home wasn't keeping up on their efforts in making sure he was properly cleaned. Getting these two items taken care of gave his dad a renewed look at life. This was a while ago and he's still doing good today.

Here's the point I'm heading towards. Had this dad been left to die, he probably would have. When God was stirring up the son, inside his heart he knew he couldn't just let nature take its course. Instead he followed the way of peace and his dad lived to see another day. God was looking at the matter, deeper. The time for his departure was premature. He needed someone who would just trust Him and ask Him to show the way to peace.

All of our ways are before the Lord. It doesn't always feel like it, but he's always got us in His field of vision. He sees the path we want to take and He knows the path we should be taking. His thinking about our directions in life go deeper than what can be seen at the surface. He knows the timing and the reasons for the timing. He's, always, looking at the heart of the matter.

The heart is the center of our emotions, right where our deepest feelings are. It's the place where the most important things in life happen. There are plenty of times when we come to an impasse in life. My decision/choice won't let me do something that another person wants me to do, because of the lack of peace. Then there's the decision
another person controls, and they won't let me do what I think I really want to do. Who's right? What gives?

The heart seems to be torn, wanting to go in one direction and being pulled in another. The good news is God is at the center of the whole thing. He's watching very closely. He's looking at all the angles. He's omnipresent, so He sees everywhere and can give the best answer, overall.

This is where Psalms 27:14 comes in. The right thing to do during a time like this is Wait... on the Lord. Then muster up all the strength you can and make a decision to Be of Good Courage. God has promised to Strengthen your Heart. You know...the center of your emotions...the place of your deepest feelings. The Psalmist then thought it really important to repeat the command...Wait...on the Lord.

As I was meditating on this the Lord then reminded me of a powerful scripture He taught me in the past. Luke 21:19 says...By your patience, possess your souls.

As I learned to meditate on that one scripture, I began to see how Extremely important it is for the child of God to take this scripture to heart...to the center of his/her emotions, right down to the deepest places of our feelings. This is the arena that Satan usually beats us up in. He attacks our mind, which challenges our will, which in turn messes up our emotions. Yet, this is the place that Jesus was teaching, we have the power to gain back the control.

In the Psalms, David wrote about his own emotions. Not only did he do the roller coaster thing with them a time or two, but he also was able to glean some very valuable lessons from God. In this 27th chapter is where one of those was learned. Wait...on the Lord. But...Be of Good Courage while you're waiting...He SHALL strengthen your Heart...right down to the deepest feeling.

So, I think the Lord is saying Wait on Him for His peace on all sides, so you can move ahead with a certainty that only comes from Him. He will, strengthen your heart once again. Promise...

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