Before You Seek, Return (Day 2)
RETURN WITH ALL YOUR HEART
The heart is the throne of all your actions. And every throne needs only one king.
Proverbs 4:23 (ESV)
"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."
Devotional Thought
Before the hand releases, the heart must renounce.
Samuel gave Israel three conditions for returning to God. And notice which one came first. Not action. Not even service. The heart. Return with all your heart.
Here's what I need you to know. The heart is the throne of all your actions. It governs how you act and who you truly are. Proverbs 27:19 says, "As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man." What's in your heart is what's true about you. Everything else is just performance.
That's why the Lord weighs the heart. Proverbs 21:2 says, "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart." You can justify every decision you make. You can explain away every compromise. But God isn't checking your explanations. He's weighing your heart.
So what does it mean to return with all your heart?
It means there are no reservations. No backup plans. No secret rooms you've locked off from God's access. All means all. Every corner. Every motive. Every desire.
Can I just say something? Most of us are pretty good at partial surrender. We give God the parts we're comfortable with. The acceptable sins. The easy obediences. But we keep certain territories for ourselves. Just in case. Just because we're not quite ready to let go.
But God is not looking for a timeshare. He's looking for a throne. And that throne is your heart.
Joel 2:12 says, "Yet even now, declares the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." Notice the order. Heart first. Then the outward expressions. The fasting, the weeping, the mourning... those are expressions of a heart that has already returned.
This is why so many people fast without fruit. They're going through the outward motions without the inward surrender. They're giving up food while holding onto control. They're restricting their diet while refusing to relinquish their heart.
The hand will only release what the heart has already renounced. If you want your hands to let go of the things that hold you back, your heart must renounce them first. Otherwise you're just white-knuckling your way through another religious exercise.
So before you focus on what to put away... before you even think about the idols you need to release... deal with the heart. Because if the throne is surrendered, everything else falls into place.
Tomorrow we'll look at the darling sins we hate because we love them. The Ashtaroth in our lives.
Samuel gave Israel three conditions for returning to God. And notice which one came first. Not action. Not even service. The heart. Return with all your heart.
Here's what I need you to know. The heart is the throne of all your actions. It governs how you act and who you truly are. Proverbs 27:19 says, "As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man." What's in your heart is what's true about you. Everything else is just performance.
That's why the Lord weighs the heart. Proverbs 21:2 says, "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart." You can justify every decision you make. You can explain away every compromise. But God isn't checking your explanations. He's weighing your heart.
So what does it mean to return with all your heart?
It means there are no reservations. No backup plans. No secret rooms you've locked off from God's access. All means all. Every corner. Every motive. Every desire.
Can I just say something? Most of us are pretty good at partial surrender. We give God the parts we're comfortable with. The acceptable sins. The easy obediences. But we keep certain territories for ourselves. Just in case. Just because we're not quite ready to let go.
But God is not looking for a timeshare. He's looking for a throne. And that throne is your heart.
Joel 2:12 says, "Yet even now, declares the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." Notice the order. Heart first. Then the outward expressions. The fasting, the weeping, the mourning... those are expressions of a heart that has already returned.
This is why so many people fast without fruit. They're going through the outward motions without the inward surrender. They're giving up food while holding onto control. They're restricting their diet while refusing to relinquish their heart.
The hand will only release what the heart has already renounced. If you want your hands to let go of the things that hold you back, your heart must renounce them first. Otherwise you're just white-knuckling your way through another religious exercise.
So before you focus on what to put away... before you even think about the idols you need to release... deal with the heart. Because if the throne is surrendered, everything else falls into place.
Tomorrow we'll look at the darling sins we hate because we love them. The Ashtaroth in our lives.
Application Questions
1. Is there an area of your heart you've kept locked off from God's access? What is it?
2. What's the difference between partial surrender and returning with all your heart?
2. What's the difference between partial surrender and returning with all your heart?
Today's Challenge
Take a heart inventory today. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any area of your heart that is not fully surrendered. Write it down. Confess it. And invite God to take the throne in that area.
Today's Prayer
Father, I want to return to You with all my heart. Not just the parts I'm comfortable with. Not just the areas that are easy to surrender. All of it. Search me and know my heart. Reveal the territories I've kept for myself. I give You the throne. Every corner. Every motive. Every desire. In Jesus' name, amen.
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