How’s Your Whole Heart?

To say that there’s a lot going on in the world right now is an understatement. Every time I hop onto social media or listen to the news, I am overwhelmed with fatigue. A lot of people and platforms are screaming for our attention right now, and it can be utterly exhausting to know exactly where to put our focus. So today, I just want to ask you one simple question that I’ve been asking myself.

How’s your whole heart?

I encourage you to stop reading for just a moment, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and check in with yourself. Even if it’s just for a minute or two, ask yourself how you’re doing.

How are you feeling? Are you stressed, anxious, or exhausted?
How’s your focus? Are you distracted, confused, or even a little lost?
How about your faith? Are you weary, doubting, or a little apathetic?

You might be having a great day today and feel none of those things, and if so, I’m immensely happy for you. Praise God!

But I would imagine many of us have felt some or all of these things this day, this month, or this year. And that’s okay. I so appreciate that God doesn’t tell us to get all cleaned up and make ourselves perfect before we come to him; he tells us to simply come as we are.

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you…” Jeremiah 29:12–14a (NIV)

God has made himself accessible to us and longs for us to find him. It’s like a dad playing hide-and-seek with a 3-year-old, hiding in the most obvious places where we can find him. But we do have to seek him. Even if we’re bad seekers or out-of-practice seekers, he still longs for that time with us. And I believe he relishes those moments when we squeal with joy (metaphorically and literally) when we do find him.

Our hearts tend to soak up whatever we steep ourselves in. Extra things can so easily attach to us that occupy parts of our hearts that were created for only God to fill. I believe that every day is an opportunity for our hearts and minds to be purified so that we can seek God with our whole hearts — not just 1/68 or 2/3 or 5/16 of our hearts. But that doesn’t make things any easier.

Even when things are hard, I find myself returning to the unchanging and gracious character of God. I can’t get past the fact that God has made himself available to us. And that he is overjoyed when we seek him.

So, once again, I want to ask you: how’s your whole heart?

No matter the answer, no matter the state of your heart, know that God is faithful, he loves you, and he wants your whole heart. If you have been beaten up and bruised by life, he still chooses you and longs to spend time with you. If you’ve set up walls around your heart to protect it, remember that he is trustworthy and cares more about your heart than you do. If you’ve tucked your heart away for safekeeping, I encourage you to bring it into the light, bring it to him — he will steward it well.

Let’s seek him with our whole hearts today!