The unimaginable worth of purity of heart.

Have you ever read the Bible or a devotional and after closing it realized that you can’t remember anything of what you just read? I have, and it’s something that God has been directing my heart towards quite a bit lately. How is it that we have forgotten what’s most important in God’s sight- simple, pure obedience? We can even read the whole Bible during the course of a year and still find at the end of it that we haven’t been affected much by it. It’s not because the Bible has lost its power but because we haven’t approached it with and open and sincere heart. Today, it comes almost naturally to us to complicate things because we are conditioned to like abstract ideas and have subjective mindsets. We have lost so much of what truly matters with the passing of time. God’s highest desire is for us to live in singleness of heart. It is hard, it takes focused effort on our part but it’s the only way to simplify our life. We are empowered to live out His Word by reading it carefully and meditating on it, “My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh” (Proverbs 4:20-22 ESV). When we are not living fully for God, we are in danger of becoming idolatrous. When God says in Ezekiel 11:19 that He will give His people “one heart, and a new spirit [He] will put within them,” He is actually referring to singleness of heart, which is the only way to live a life free from idolatry. All throughout the parables of Jesus in the New Testament, He makes a point of speaking to the heart of the issue and of pointing people towards the pure and simple Truth. I’m finding that when I come before God with something that is pressing on my heart, He tends to redirect me towards the heart of the issue because that is what He is more concerned about. God is after simplicity so let’s approach Him with honesty and purity, giving Him our entire heart’s devotion. I am finding that by reading less from the Bible on a daily basis but making a point of truly focusing and even writing down what I sense God is speaking to me from that portion of Scripture and praying about how I can apply it is a powerful way of living simply before Him. Start by saying a simple prayer in which you ask God to give you the strength to understand and apply His Word before you read it. Then pray the Word, asking God to help you live it out and you will find the secret to singleness of heart. Simplify!