FROM THE HEART

Pr. James Victor Lubwama

Jeremiah 17:10 (NLT)

“But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives……...”

God respects and values that which springs from the heart; when your heart doesn’t speak, God will not hear what you are saying – any communication to Him has to originate from the Heart! Many people have not received answers to their prayers because they do not start from the heart. A prayer from the heart is very effective; but anything you speak that does not come from the heart will go unanswered. As the scripture says in Jeremiah 17:10 (AMP) that; “…….I test the heart, to give to each man ……...”

As you pray, God examines your heart to assess the authenticity of your words or motive! When you give or minister and your actions are not triggered by your heart, you will have done so in vain, but if whatever you do is heartfelt, then God will surely bless you. If you want to see success or blessings in your life, do things that spring from your heart not emotions or mindset. Whenever you have your heart set towards something, you will get positive results; therefore you have got to train yourself to do everything with your heart. Sometimes we question God as to why we are not seeing results or success; but we need to ask ourselves if we do put our hearts in whatever we are doing or whether those unsuccessful ventures originated from the heart. Most people do things in partiality – for the sake of doing them or to please other people, but whenever there is a bias, you will never succeed. You will only achieve excellence when you do things wholeheartedly.

God’s desire is to bless us so that we remain transformed and bring about change in the world, but we can only bring about change if we do things authentically and wholeheartedly. God is perfect and all He does is perfect. James 1:17 (GNT) acknowledges this; “Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator…..” Since every good and perfect gift comes from above, the imperfect comes from earth, so we sons and daughters of the most high God can do perfect things as well; because perfection comes from the heart where God Himself dwells. Jesus said in John 14:23 (TLB) that; “I will only reveal myself to those who love me and obey me. The Father will love them too, and we come to them and live with them.”  He won’t come to live in your mind but heart!

Heart Service

Just as you wholeheartedly do your personal things, you should also replicate the same when it comes to your Creator; God is looking for sons and daughters who yearn to serve Him wholeheartedly - in spirit and in truth.

When the Lord has worked for you, the heathen will not be able to ask “where is your God?” That is why for whatever God is going to do for you, He wants to silence the nations who always ask; where is your God? They even throw you in the lions’ den and in the fire just to see if God will save you and if you succeed amidst those challenges and oppressions, you will have showed the capability and mighty of your God; and when that is witnessed, then they will turn around and worship your God. 

We cling to God because we want Him to manifest in our lives, however God cannot manifest in things that are imperfect – not heart initiatives; so do everything with your heart, whether cooking, work, ministry or prayer; let whatever you do be done wholeheartedly because that exhibits God. Uniqueness starts with the heart!

Your heart is larger than heaven and earth. God clearly states in Isaiah 66:1 (NKJV) that; “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool…..” Heaven is too small for God; He sits in heaven with earth as his footstool, yet he is able to fit in your heart! Your heart is large enough to accommodate God. 1 Corinthians 3:16 inquires; “Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”

Trust your heart because in it there is your life’s purpose and direction, and out of it springs the core issues of life. Proverbs 4:23 (MSG) warns; “Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.” You can do something fundamental with your life and in the kingdom of God if only you dig deep into your heart. But all the perfection and heartfelt issues will begin to blossom once you have the Holy Spirit in your life. 

Do things wholeheartedly; do things originating from the heart.
Flow from the heart!