GraceCreates

By Jon Walker

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalms 19:14 HCSB)

Have you ever carried on a debate with some one – for hours? Perhaps the debate lasted for days, an intense debate, where you made every point brilliantly, proving your position was right and justified.

And even though you win the debate, it still keeps going because the debate is all in your head – you against a phantom opponent who represents someone who hurt you in the reality of life. You go over the hurt again and again – in your mind.

Jesus knows about the human tendency to have these extended conversations in our mind – how we’ll go over a situation again and again, creating an ever-deeper rut of hurt and anger.

He also knows that these thoughts – as well as the things we say within our head or through our lips – are reflections of the landscape of our hearts. He says, “What comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart.” (Matthew 15:18-20 MSG)

Our hearts speak louder than our words.

The Apostle Paul explains, “If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-13 MSG)

In other words, on the dashboard of your life, the gauge that monitors the condition of your heart is what comes out of your mouth: anger or acceptance, criticism or encouragement, bitterness or forgiveness.

God doesn’t want us to try to hide the condition of our hearts by being insincere in what we say or do – God forbid that.

He wants us to hand him our hearts so he can scrub them clean and heal our hurts.

The king of ancient Israel, David, confessed the sin in his heart, inviting God to change the condition of his heart: “God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalms 51:10 HCSB)

When you give God your heart, he will set a guard around it: “And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7 HCSB)

What does this mean?

• Vigilantly guard your heart – Your heart will create the foundation for healthy, godly communications. Ask God to guide you as you maintain vigilance over your heart by dealing with issues immediately, instead of allowing them to fester for days, weeks, or even longer.
• Ask God to show you where there may be parts of your heart that need to be cleansed. Ask him to show you if there is anyone with whom you need to make things right.

Jon Walker is the teaching pastor for “The Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotionals,” and resident writer at www.GraceCreates.com. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

I don’t concern myself with matters too great or awesome for me. But I have stilled and quieted myself, just as a small child is quiet with its mother. Yes, like a small child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the LORD — now and always. (Psalms 131:1b-3 NLT)

Today’s devotional actually comes from my sister, a godly woman and serious prayer warrior. She e-mailed this morning, saying she’d been thinking the peace of God that passes all understanding.

She said she’d spent some time meditating on Psalm 131 –

• Verse 1b – “… I don’t concern myself with matters too great or awesome for me ….” We are free to live out our purpose when we relinquish control of the things that don’t belong to us in the first place, such as worry about things over which we have no control, or trying to control something we have no business trying to control.
• Verse 2 – “But I have stilled and quieted myself, just as a small child is quiet with its mother ….”  I trust, even when the outcome seems a long way away. A nursing child wants attention now, but weaned child trusts and is content to wait.
• Verse 3 – “… Put your hope in the LORD — now and always.” We hope in the Lord with confident expectation. In other words, we truly believe he will answer our prayers, that he will respond, that he will get us through. You can declare confidently that the Lord will pave your way and walk with you and keep your feet from stumbling. He’s done it before, and he’ll do it again!

Praise God for his peace! It is through his peace that we can do all things – and endure so much. It is a peace that passes all understanding.

What now?

• Overly concerned – Is your peace undermined because you’re concerned about matters that are not even your responsibility? Or a matter over which you have absolutely no control? Ask God what should be on your “responsibility” list; ask him what items you should remove from your list. Psalm 131:1b – “I don’t concern myself with matters too great or awesome for me.”
• Prayer, but delayed gratification – Are you at peace because you have learned to trust God and wait? If not, ask God to reveal what makes you demand an immediate answer from him, and talk to him about what he reveals. Ask God to help you learn to trust him – and to wait. Psalm 131:2 – “But I have stilled and quieted myself, just as a small child is quiet with its mother. Yes, like a small child is my soul within me.”
• Confident expectation – When you say you hope in the Lord, then really hope in the Lord. Expect him to come through for you – at just the right time in just the right way. Psalm 131:3 – “O Israel, put your hope in the LORD — now and always.”

Jon Walker is the teaching pastor for “The Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotionals,” and resident writer at www.GraceCreates.com. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.