The Posture of Our Hearts
Have you ever received good news, but there was something not so joyful going on in your heart that prevented you from receiving the joy of that good news?
I think we’ve all been there, and we can look back at moments where we wish we would have reacted not out of our hurt but out of gratitude for those caring for us. Being a dad has given me a front-row seat to this phenomenon. How so? See, whenever it happens in my life, I am always quick and capable of rationalizing why the joy of good news is not really all that good because, in some odd way, I am more comforted by the dissatisfaction in my heart. However, as a dad, watching my children have “grumpy” hearts in the face of good news strikes me with a newfound clarity for my own life.
Here is what I mean by that, the posture of our hearts often directly correlates to the amount of joy that is in our lives.
No, I do not expect my kids to all of a sudden be “over the moon” when something good comes into their lives when they are having a tough day. That is an unreasonable expectation for anyone and one that I wouldn’t want to live under. Yet, I do expect them to be able to respond with gratitude and kindness. Why? Because we are in control of the postures of our hearts. When the posture of my heart is turned so far inward that my own dissatisfaction and hurt are more comforting to me than someone else’s kindness and care, that is a “me and my heart” problem. And, the greatest tragedy of it? My hurt and dissatisfaction only grow deeper, and I end up hurting myself more. The wound that was not self-inflicted, to begin with, is made exponentially worse by my own hands.
The Bible speaks about the importance of the posture of our hearts and its impact on our lives as a whole. David asks for God to “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”[1] Solomon reminds us that we are to “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”[2] Jeremiah cautions us to be wary of our hearts, saying, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”[3] And, even Jesus comments on the importance of the posture of our hearts, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”[4]
This Sunday, we are going to look at three different groups who had different heart postures and how that impacted their lives when they heard the greatest news ever, the gospel. The posture of their hearts will impact their lives and their eternities, and those with hard hearts will be robbed of joy.
Let us guard the posture of our hearts so that we are not robbed of joy.
[1] (Ps. 51:10)
[2] (Pr. 4:23)
[3] (Jer. 17:9)
[4] (Mt. 5:8)