How is Your Heart Postured?

Lately, I’ve been asking God to help me with the posture of my heart. It is something that I’ve been in continuous prayer about and encourage others to seek out as well. We each go through different life experiences that have shaped us differently. Often times, the root of our poor faith and the struggle we face in our relationship with God is connected to the things that have hurt us. We house a lot of brokenness, pain, trauma, fear, abandonment, violence, and wickedness in our hearts. No matter how kind we think we are, how giving, and forgiving, it is important that we ask the Lord to constantly search our hearts. Many things lie dormant and can be hiding, even from ourselves.

Jeremiah 17:9-10 KJV The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

Jeremiah 17:9-10 MSG “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.”

The only one who truly knows our heart is God, which is why we must go to Him about what is in it. You ever wonder why everything is all good until someone upsets you? Consider the times someone has hurt you. How did you respond? What did you say? What did you want to say even if it didn’t come out of your mouth? What were some of your thoughts?

There are a lot of things that look good or seem “fixed” until our emotions are triggered. Can you see how the things in our heart can bleed over into our relationship with God? Some of us know the shame, embarrassment, and disappointment we house in our hearts which pushes us away from God because we think we’re unworthy. For others, our pain, brokenness, and abandonment has built a wall between us and God because of what man has done. Oh, and there’s also us who feel like “everything is all good and our relationship with God is great“ because we are full of deception and lack conviction. No matter which group you fall in line with, if you fail to ask God to reveal the things of your heart, you are putting yourself in a position to be deceived.

Mark 7:21-23 KJV For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

We are foolish to assume we know ourselves better than our creator and we lack humility if we fail to ask God to show us our hearts. Following a heart that we truly do not know is dangerous and can trigger a domino effect of thoughts and actions. Because our heart posture is so important, I encourage you to start there. Is it fun? No. Is it necessary? Absolutely. God can and will do more with us when our hearts are in the right place. How? Because we are in partnership with Him, instead of fighting against Him.

One way to know your heart isn't in good posture is the lack of conviction. Can you do something that goes against God's word and feel no way about it? How do you feel when God tries to correct you? Do you dismiss it and carry on? Do you hold your feelings higher than your obedience to God? I would not recommend being used by God without good heart posture. Can it still happen without it? Yes. God can use anyone He wants to ensure things get done, but that doesn't mean we are in good standing with Him. That's scary to think about it isn't it? It's even wilder to know there are people still doing the work of God without the heart of Him.

Matthew 7:21-23 NLT “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

The story of Joseph is a beautiful example beginning in Genesis 37. There’s many takeaways, but I’d like to focus on the posture of Joseph’s heart. Joseph had a gift that his brothers were jealous of. They sold him and pretended he was dead, only to need him years later. When Joseph was in a position of power, he didn't use it to abuse or harm his brothers. In fact, the Bible mentions various times where Jospeh privately weeped when facing them. He faced many challenges, including being reappointed by the Pharaoh who placed him in jail behind a lie... but retaliation wasn't Joseph's motive. God could trust Joseph to make good, rational decisions as a leader and it showed. We see this not just through his actions, but by his fruit.

Matthew 7:18-20 NKJV A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

True discipleship of God includes the posture of our hearts. Our hearts can deceive us, but we cannot deceive them. The way we represent God is being projected from the way we truly feel about Him in our hearts. Disobedience, dishonor, fear, and more can be stemming from the posture of our hearts. Remember to extend grace upon yourself during this. Some things that are at the root may not be something you've done or caused, similar to Joseph's story, but what will you do next? When we know better, we do better.