Don't Trust Your Heart; Trust Your God

1John 3: 19-20 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

We spend so much time in our walk talking about victory in Christ and singing about being free but it is so disheartening to continue to watch these be mere words in the lives of Christians today. It seems like we can all read the Bible and internalize its words only to cast them aside for our feelings, our disappointments and the lies of the enemy which come with them. What it comes down to is whether or not we belong to the truth as the key verses state. We can know the truth and yet still not allow it to set us free. We can know the truth, recite it, teach it, and believe it right up until the moment we need to belong to it in our lives.

That is the first lesson from the key verses today we need to belong to the truth. Now we know the truth is the Jesus and His Word but what exactly does belonging to it mean? The dictionary defines belong as, "A member, an adherent, an inhabitant." To be a member of the truth means that we must be a part of it. The relationship is not a casual one but rather a serious one; a commitment:

Commit everything you do to the L ord . Trust him, and he will help you. Psalm 37: 5 (NLT)

But we sometimes are not good with this commitment. We become part time believers. We believe God for one thing or another until something we feel comes against something we believe. Then suddenly we defer to our feelings. But we are not only to be a member of the truth but we are to be an adherent, or a follower. This starts to get closer to home. We often times have a difficult time being a follower. Even the modern day church has become enamored with leadership; perhaps because it has often failed at following. But what was the instruction from the Apostle Paul:

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 1Corinthians 11: 1 (NIV)

Follow; follow. An adherent follows the truth. We do not deviate from it because we might feel differently. There are things in the Bible that may escape our human understanding. God is not asking you to figure Him out; He is asking you to trust Him that He knows better. In the same letter, Paul goes deeper:

My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? 1Corinthians 1: 11-13 (NIV)

Christ is the truth and that is what we need to be an adherent to. But when we come against our feelings we can often start to follow other things. We can seek out our friends for advice, our therapist for advice, or worldly solutions to help deal with what we are facing. We start to divide Christ against our emotions. We say, "Well I believe in God but I follow what my best friend says" or "Well I believe in God but I can't control my feelings." These shackles and bondages are exactly what Christ died on the cross to set us free from! But we must become part of the truth we espouse belief in. We must follow it because we know that while our feelings will often seek to betray us, God never will.

We aren't only to be a member and adherent, we also must be an inhabitant of the truth. We must live in it. Unfortunately we can get spiritually lazy. We go to church for services and serve in ministries but in the day to day grind of our lives we do not live in His truth. It's like we save God for problems or petitions but do not walk with Him constantly. Remember one the greatest promises of God:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8: 28 (NIV)

This doesn't say in some things beloved. In ALL things God is working for our good. But we must be found living in Christ, not just being a visitor:

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. John 15: 4 (NLT)

A visitor by definition does not remain. An inhabitant by definition remains. He stays. She dwells. People love to recite Psalm 91 but what is the entire Psalm predicated upon?

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91: 1 (NLT)

It is only those that live in the shelter of God can find rest in Him. We must be constantly vigilant that our relationship with God is one of membership, adherence and residence. Without these requirements, we will be left to the whims of the human condition and the emotions we know do not always serve our eternal best interest. It is our human condition that is often willing to settle for second best, or even worse. God doesn't want us to settle for second best in our lives. He already has sworn to us that the life He has for us is one of abundance so why should we settle for less?

The next truth from the key verses today is that our hearts will often condemn us. Now there is a sobering thought! We often times see God as being condemning of who we are when in reality He is condemning of what we do. In the Gospel of John we see the Pharisees bring to Jesus a woman caught in the act of adultery and asking if they should stone her to death according to the Law of Moses. Jesus gave them the answer of allowing the first person to cast a stone be without sin themselves. The story ends with this:

When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, "Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?" "No, Lord," she said. And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more." John 8: 9-11 (NLT)

Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more. The sin? Absolutely condemned. The person? Absolutely not. But this is so against human nature. We walk around not only condemning of others but even more so of ourselves. That is what God is saying here in the key verse. We can expect our hearts to condemn us. It will convince us that our time in a failed relationship was somehow "wasted." It will convince us that an abusive relationship (physically, emotionally or spiritually) is simply the "best we can expect." It will convince us that we simply have no control over our feelings and therefore must give in to them. But remember what God teaches us about the condition of the human heart:

"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? Jeremiah 17: 9 (NLT)

Not just mildly deceitful beloved. The most deceitful of all things! Not just mildly wicked. Desperately wicked! Often times this verse is used to discuss the deceitfulness of the heart in relation to external motives but it also applies internally. Our hearts lie to us all the time! We can convince ourselves of almost anything through our heart. We can know that the Bible says to not be unequally yoked yet date someone who does not share our beliefs. We can know that the Word says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and still look in the mirror and let the enemy tell us how bad we look. We can get out of a relationship that we know God has said no to and still sit in mourning over it, deferring to what we feel instead of what we believe.

Think of it this way. There is always the old description that you have the devil on one shoulder and an angel, or God on the other. God always speaks to what you believe. Read the Gospels! Jesus is constantly referring to God, and faith, and belief. But the devil always speaks to your heart. He can't speak to faith because he loses that argument. He can't speak to belief because he loses that argument. But within the heart, the devil finds fertile ground for his lies to grow. Sure he often uses our intellect and mind but it is through pride which starts in the heart. Pride is a feeling of being superior. Proverbs teaches us:

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4: 23 (NLT)

It doesn't say guard your heart occasionally or secondarily. It says above all else. It determines the course of your life beloved. How many people got stuck in horrific marriages because they followed what they felt instead of what they believed? How many walk into a wilderness of their own creation, wandering for years in the worldly lies of depression, medication and therapy, only to walk back out when they finally went back to what they knew instead of what they felt? Remember, the world wants you to figure out how to cope with your problems, which means to live with them. God doesn't want you to live with your problems He wants you to overcome them through Him. The little things we give in to our hearts today become strongholds we cannot seem to escape tomorrow.

The key verse says that we need to set our hearts at rest in His presence. What a beautiful word picture being drawn. In the world of unrest, where our hearts will constantly seek to stir up misery and drama, God not only wants you to be at rest but your heart as well. But look at the implication God is making. If you find your heart at unrest it must be removed from His presence. That is what the heart does to us. It not only lies and sells us the solutions of the world but it drives us apart from the presence of the only one we know can truly solve all of our problems and heartaches! What is the promise found in His presence?

You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16 11 (NKJV)

We cannot have fullness of joy and be depressed. We cannot experience pleasures forevermore and also be wallowing in the misery of our hearts. But here is the lynchpin of the key verses God is greater than our hearts. This is an affirmative statement. It is not an opinion. It does not have grey area to manipulate. But the question for us today in our moments of misery and heartache is whether or not we believe that God is bigger. I do not just mean believe with our words. Are we a member of that belief? Do we follow that belief as an adherent? Do we live in that belief? Or do we cast it aside for our feelings. Do we submit control of who we are to a God who has already promised He is working all things out for our good? Or do we cede control to our feelings knowing full well that our heart is deceitful above all things? That is what will determine whether or not your heart can truly rest in the presence of God.

And look at the last part of the key verses He knows everything! The God we serve is not some absentee landlord, unaware of what is going on! He knows everything we are going through and more importantly, He knows what would happen to our lives if our feelings won out. He sees the end of that relationship we cling to so desperately. He sees how it ends in misery or God forbid apart from Him. He sees where that promotion would end up taking you. He sees where that move to another state will lead you away from Him. He sees, He sees, He sees. Yet we treat Him like He is a blind guide. We treat Him as if He just doesn't understand our feelings. He does beloved He is just greater than them. His plan is greater than them. His love is greater than them. But only if we allow Him to be greater in our lives, in our emotions, and in our hearts.

Reverend Anthony Wade August 15, 2011